Product Code: ICA11_M101

Effects of Peak Power and Multipulsing on Drilling and Marking with Ns Pulses
Authors:
Sami Hendow, Multiwave Photonics; San Jose CA USA
Presented at ICALEO 2011

Pulse shape control and multipulsing are emerging as alternative means of enhancing material removal rates and improving the quality of machining operation. Various examples of multipulsing and pulse shape control are presented using a MOPA fiber laser, together with experimental and modeling results for 10 to 200 ns pulses showing peak power and pulse duration affecting ablation depth and HAZ. The laser is configured to produce fast bursts of pulses at tens of MHz, with temporal envelope in the range of 10 to 200 ns. These bursts are collectively triggered and amplified as if they were a single pulse, at burst repetition frequencies from single-shot to hundreds of kHz. Experimental results demonstrate that material removal rates are influenced by pulse parameters that include pulse shape, number of pulses as well as the spacing between the individual pulses within the fast burst.