To date majority of the micromachining applications have been addressed with the lamp pumped pulsed Nd: YAG laser. However, the increasing complexity of microelectronics/ engineering devices and the requirement for higher yields and automated production systems place stringent demands on the micromachining techniques. This has led to development of new laser sources fiber and dick lasers etc. 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 a range of micromachining applications.
In this work, we will provide some processing data achieved with single mode fiber up to 400W average power for a range of materials and compare its processing performance with lamp pumped Nd: YAG laser of up to 300W. The focus of this work is therefore laser microcutting, joining and drilling with both laser sources.