Picosecond and femtosecond lasers for industrial material processing

Cold laser materials processing using ultra short pulsed lasers has become one of the most promising new technologies for high-precision cutting, ablation, drilling and marking of almost all types of material, without causing unwanted thermal damage to the part. These characteristics have opened up new application areas and materials for laser processing, allowing previously impossible features to be created and also reducing the amount of post-processing required to an absolute minimum, saving time and cost. However, short pulse widths are only one part of the story for industrial manufacturing processes which focus on total costs and maximum productivity and production yield. Like every other production tool, ultrashort pulse lasers have to provide high quality results with maximum reliability. Robustness and global on-site support are vital factors, as well as easy system integration.