Pulsed Nd:YAG has successfully entered the laser processing arena of new applications. There are new high tech materials in the electro and manufacturing industries which require specific processing strategies as well as flexible process adapted laser sources.
For micro welding with pulsed Nd:YAG laser sources, a built-in controller that controls the feedback of the pulse power has been developed. Due to this technique, the shape of the pulse can be adapted to the optical and thermal properties of materials as well as the metallurgy of the melting pool. Studies on steel, aluminum and copper alloys have proven that the welding process is more reproducible and stabile. Application experience demonstrates that it is reasonable to distinguish several time sections with their specific effects on the welding process.
Best results in cutting and drilling with pulsed lamp-pumped Nd:YAG lasers have been demonstrated with special optical resonator design. With these resonators, high beam qualities are available even with high pulse repetition rates. For percussion drilling, aspect ratios of more than 1:250 have been achieved. The high quality resonators allows, for example, drilling of 500 holes per second with diameters of 40 microns in 0.5 mm stainless steel.