Table-top 50-W laser system for ultra-fast laser ablation

B. Luther-Davies*, V. Z. Kolev, M. J. Lederer, N. R. Madsen, A. V. Rode, J. Giesekus, K. M. Du, M. Duering

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    83 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We have built a mode-locked Nd : YVO4 laser with a very long resonator which produces an average power of 50 W in 13-ps pulses at 1064 nm and was designed for applications in micro-machining, the deposition of optical thin films, and the growth of nano-clusters in the laser-ablated plumes. By operating the laser at very low mode-locking repetition rates (1.5 MHz, 2.6 MHz, and 4.1MHz), high pulse power is available in a near diffraction limited beam, allowing focused intensities to exceed 1012 W/cm2 and permitting efficient evaporation of difficult materials such as Si. The high power also allows conversion into the second harmonic at 532 nm with an efficiency exceeding 80%. Measurements of the ablation mass in experiments with metals show a 30-100 times increase in the ablation rate compared to the conventional low-repetition-rate ns-range lasers.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1051-1055
    Number of pages5
    JournalApplied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing
    Volume79
    Issue number4-6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2004

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