Microscopic Processing of Transparent Material with Nanosecond and Ultrafast Lasers

Abstract

Due to their excellent light transmission, heat resistance, corrosion resistance, high mechanical strength, and other characteristics, transparent materials have been widely used in emerging industries such as aviation, aerospace, microelectronics, interconnected communication, etc. Compared with the traditional mechanical processing and chemical processing of transparent materials, laser processing, with such characteristics as a high peak power, high energy density, and non-contact processing, has a lot of obvious advantages in processing efficiency and accuracy. In this paper, some of the recent research advancements concerning the laser processing of transparent materials are introduced in detail. Firstly, the basic mechanism of the interaction between the laser and material is briefly summarized on the time scale. The differences in principle between nanosecond, picosecond, and femtosecond pulse laser processing are analyzed. Then, the main technical means of the nanosecond laser processing of transparent materials are summarized. Next, the main application directions of the ultrafast laser processing of transparent materials are discussed, including the preparation of optical waveguide devices, periodic structure devices, micropores, and microchannels. Finally, this paper summarizes the prospects for the future development of laser processing transparent materials.