EoW March 2008

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EuroWire – March 2008 54
english technology news
Dr Tony Hoult, of the SPI Lasers
applications laboratory, is challenging the
perception of the capabilities of near infra-
red lasers using state-of-art fibre lasers.
Areas such as plastic welding for the
medical and mobile phone industries,
scribing and cutting polymers for the
automotive industry and ablation of thin
films for the photovoltaic industry are
showing excellent results when processed
with a fibre laser.
One of the most recent examples of the
more surprising results produced by
the applications lab is plastic welding,
something not thought to be suitable for
either the high brightness of fibre lasers or
the beam characteristics. However, when
tested by the applications lab, a careful
manipulation of the laser beam has made
it very easy to produce welds in polymers
that are efficient, precise and time saving.
Other examples include cutting polymers
for the automotive industry, scribing and
cutting alumina, and cutting and micro-
machining of silicon. Also of real interest
is the laser ablation of thin films for the
photovoltaic industry.
In this case, using very high laser
frequencies up to 500kHz for thin film
removal produces very precise material
removal. This means that the base
material, be it glass, plastics or silicon,
remains untouched when processed by
one of the SPI lasers.
These results come on the back of an
announcement from the applications
laboratory in September that when
cutting silicon using a 200W CW-M
1070nm fibre laser, cutting speeds of
up to 6m/min on 200µm polycrystalline
silicon were readily achieved.
SPI Lasers is expecting the results
produced by the applications lab to
continue to expand the perceived
capabilities of the fibre lasers.
SPI Lasers – UK
Fax: +44 1489 779698
Email:
Website:
Fibre lasers leading the way
Dr Tony Hoult at the Rofin Station ▲