Product Code: PIC2008_P220

Micro Processing with High Repetition Rate Pulsed Fibre Lasers
Authors:
Jack Gabzdyl, SPI Lasers; Southampton Great Britain
Tony Hoult, Spi Lasers Llc; Santa Clara CA USA
Lu Ming, Spi Lasers; Southhampton Great Britain
Presented at PICALO 2008

Traditional q-switched laser sources have been limited in pulse frequency and in overall control of pulse energy and length. A novel pulsed fibre laser capable of operation from cw through to 500kHz has provided a tool that has enabled a number of significant processing improvements. The benefits of operating in the >100kHz regime, encompassing both quality and productivity, is evident in a number of applications such as; marking of metals, plastics and IC packages, and also in micromachining and in thin film patterning. Clearly applications that have low pulse energy thresholds can benefit most from operating in the high frequency regime.