Industrial Ultrafast Lasers for Micro-Processing and Applications

Level: Introductory Length: 4 hours Format: In-Person Lecture Intended Audience: Graduate students, engineers, scientists, technicians and managers working in ultrafast laser research or product development. Description: This course provides an overview of the design, performance characteristics, the current state of the art, and the applications of industrial ultrafast lasers used in micro-processing. The course reviews the properties of Yb-doped and Nd-doped gain materials used to generate pulse durations in the range of 300 fs to 15 ps, and discusses the design principles for modelocked solid state and fiber MOPA architectures to realize average output powers of up to hundreds of Watts with pulse energies in the range of 1 µJ to several mJ. The course will cover the design of SESAM modelocked oscillators, the fundamentals of Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA), including design rules for pulse stretching and compression devices, as well as frequency conversion to the green and ultraviolet spectral range. Topics will also include the interaction of fs/ps pulses with materials during laser processing and a review of the optimum fluences and maximum ablation rates in the IR, Green and UV for more than 25 materials used in industrial manufacturing. The course concludes with an overview of currently available laser products and their industrial applications and a summary of recent R&D results. Learning Outcomes: This course will enable you to: - explain the laser-relevant properties of gain materials used for industrial ultrafast lasers - acquire an up-to-date overview of ultrafast laser products and their applications - explain pulse stretching, pulse compression, and frequency conversion of ultrafast laser pulses. - explain the design criteria for SESAM modelocked oscillators - explain the design methodology of ultrafast MOPAs in rod, disk and fiber geometry - examine the interaction of ultrafast laser pulses with materials and the design rules to optimize ultrafast laser processing - quantify X-ray exposure/dosage that may occur during ultrafast laser processing - explain the principle of optimum fluence and maximum ablation rates - identify optimum fluences and ablation rates for 25 materials used in industrial laser processing as a function of pulse duration and laser wavelength - discuss the effect of burst mode in laser processing - develop an appreciation of the scope, depth and pace of technical progress of the state-of-the art of industrial ultrafast lasers in the IR, GREEN, and UV wavelengths range Instructor(s): Norman Hodgson is Chief Technology Officer of the Laser Business Segment of Coherent, Corp. in Santa Clara, CA. He has more than 35 years experience in optics and laser technology with a focus on solid state laser and fiber laser design, optimization and product development. Previously held positions include Vice President of Engineering at Coherent (2003-2021), Director of Engineering at Spectra-Physics, Inc. in Mountain View, CA (1998-2003), Senior Laser Engineer and Program Manager at Carl Zeiss, Inc. in Princeton, NJ and San Leandro, CA (1992-1996) and various university positions. Dr. Hodgson received his Diploma in Physics from the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, Germany, in 1986, and a PhD in Physics from Technical University Berlin in 1990. Dr. Hodgson has authored over 90 publications and conference presentations and is co-inventor on more than 60 issued and pending patents. Event: SPIE Photonics West 2023 Course Held: 30 January 2023