High-speed micromachining with high-power picosecond ultraviolet lasers

Highest precision and minimal thermal impact is achieved, using picosecond laser pulses for micromachining. Virtually any material can be processed with outstanding quality. The use of ultraviolet (UV) pulses can provide additional benefits in higher throughput and improved edge quality for materials like metals, glasses, semiconductors or ceramics. The advanced oscillator-amplifier (MOPA) laser design, based on reliable Nd:YVO 4 -systems, enables power scaling of IR-pulses, and led to a series of laser systems with a repetition rate as high as 1 MHz and average power levels ranging from 10 W to well above 50 W. Harmonic generation to the visible (532 nm) and the UV (355 nm) reaches efficiencies of 50%, providing powerful beams for cost effective high-speed micromachining with high throughput.