Non-infrared femtosecond lasers: status and prospects

The unique properties of ultrafast laser pulses pave the way to numerous novel applications. Particularly lasers in the sub-pico second regime, i.e. femtosecond lasers, in the last decade arrived at a level of reliability suitable for the industrial environment and now gain an increasing recognition since these pulse durations combine the advantages of precise ablation with higher efficiency especially in the case of processing metallic materials. However, for some micro processing applications the infrared wavelength of these lasers is still a limiting factor. Thus, to further broaden the range of possible applications, industrial femtosecond lasers should combine the advantages of femtosecond pulses and shorter wavelengths. To that extend, we present results obtained with a frequency doubled TruMicro 5000 FemtoEdition. We show that depending on the processed material, the higher photon energy as well as tighter focusing options of the shorter wavelength can open up a new regime of processing parameters. This regime is not accessible by infrared light, leading to a wider range of possible applications.