Picosecond lasers have the potential to combine the high process speed of nanosecond lasers with the excellent machining quality of femtosecond lasers. Recent enhancements of laser manufacturers address two major industrial needs – multiplication of output power and robust and mature laser products. This enables industrial applications in various fields, where highest machining accuracy and process speed is needed, combined with a minimum of thermal damage to the work piece.
Corresponding to the two basic power multiplication concepts - increase of pulse energy or the repetition rate – picosecond lasers not only facilitate the fabrication of new and innovative products, they also become more attractive for the substitution of conventional laser micromachining processes. With regard to typical application scenarios (e.g. structuring of thin film solar cells, rounding of cutting edges, 3D-milling of polycrystalline diamond tools) we demonstrate the readiness of ps-lasers in micromachining and discuss their economical benefit for the industrial community. resolution is close to femtosecond ablation, when using qualified process parameters.