Technical advantages of disk laser technology in short and ultrashort pulse processes

P. Graham; J. Stollhof; S. Weiler; S. Massa; B. Faisst; P. Denney; E. Gounaris

doi:10.1117/12.875573

11 February 2011 Technical advantages of disk laser technology in short and ultrashort pulse processes

P. Graham, J. Stollhof, S. Weiler, S. Massa, B. Faisst, P. Denney, E. Gounaris

Proceedings Volume 7925, Frontiers in Ultrafast Optics: Biomedical, Scientific, and Industrial Applications XI; 79250T (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.875573
Event: SPIE LASE, 2011, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

This paper demonstrates that disk-laser technology introduces advantages that increase efficiency and allows for high productivity in micro-processing in both the nanosecond (ns) and picosecond (ps) regimes. Some technical advantages of disk technology include not requiring good pump beam quality or special wavelengths for pumping of the disk, high optical efficiencies, no thermal lensing effects and a possible scaling of output power without an increase of pump beam quality. With cavity-dumping, the pulse duration of the disk laser can be specified between 30 and hundreds of nanoseconds, but is independent of frequency, thus maintaining process stability. TRUMPF uses this technology in the 750 watts average power laser TruMicro 7050. High intensity, along with fluency, is important for high ablation rates in thinfilm removal. Thus, these ns lasers show high removal rates, above 60 cm²/s, in thin-film solar cell production. In addition, recent results in paint-stripping of aerospace material prove the green credentials and high processing rates inherent with this technology as it can potentially replace toxic chemical processes. The ps disk technology meanwhile is used in, for example, scribing of solar cells, wafer dicing and drilling injector nozzles, as the pulse duration is short enough to minimize heat input in the laser-matter interaction. In the TruMicro Series 5000, the multi-pass regenerative amplifier stage combines high optical-optical efficiencies together with excellent output beam quality for pulse durations of only 6 ps and high pulse energies of up to 0.25 mJ.

Citation Download Citation

P. Graham, J. Stollhof, S. Weiler, S. Massa, B. Faisst, P. Denney, and E. Gounaris "Technical advantages of disk laser technology in short and ultrashort pulse processes", Proc. SPIE 7925, Frontiers in Ultrafast Optics: Biomedical, Scientific, and Industrial Applications XI, 79250T (11 February 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.875573

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