Ultrashort-pulsed laser sources with kilowatt power for industrial applications

摘要

Scaling picosecond and femtosecond laser sources and process technology to 10 kW and beyond. Having found early wide-scale use in mobile device glass scribing applications, ultrashort-pulse (USP) lasers in the picosecond (ps) or even femtosecond (fs) range have been available for more than a decade. The ability to process numerous materials with micron precision--without splatter or thermal side effects--promises to expand the range of potential applications for industrial USP lasers. However, USP laser use in applications that require high repetition rates and high power to achieve economically viable throughput have been limited.