Product Code: ICAL07_M303

Micromachining Performance Comparison Between a Pulsed Nd: YAG Laser and a Single Mode Fiber Laser Up to 100W Average Power
Authors:
Mohammed Naeem, GSI Group, Inc. - Laser Division; Rugby Great Britain
Steffan Lewis, GSI Group, Inc. - Laser Division; Warwickshire Great Britain
Presented at ICALEO 2007

Many applications in the electronics, telecom, automotive and medical industry require either drill small holes, cut small features or join small parts. As these devices are getting smaller and smaller, micromachining becoming more and more important. For micromachining applications it is very important to have a laser, which has a very good beam quality to produce small spot size, and also can process a range of materials.

Since the early developments of laser micro machining, the lamp pumped pulsed Nd: YAG laser has been the source of choice. Single mode fiber lasers have recently emerged as potential alternative sources for laser micro machining. These lasers with diffraction limited beam quality offer many advantages such as small spot size, high power density, enhanced processing speeds, reduced heat affected zone for both cutting and joining applications respectively. In this work, we will provide micromachining data with a pulsed lamp pumped Nd: YAG laser and single mode fiber laser up to 200W average power. The focus of this work is therefore laser micro cutting, drilling and joining with both pulsed Nd: YAG laser and a fiber laser in a range of materials including plastics.