Ultrafast lasers—reliable tools for advanced materials processing

TLDR

Ultrafast lasers, with picosecond and femtosecond pulses and extremely high peak intensities, have opened new avenues for materials processing and are widely used in both research and practical applications. This review aims to describe the characteristics of ultrafast laser processing, recent advancements, applications in surface and volume processing, and future outlooks. The review outlines surface techniques such as micromachining, micro‑ and nanostructuring, and nanoablation, volume methods like two‑photon polymerization and 3D processing in transparent materials, and explains how ultrashort, intense pulses interact with matter. Ultrafast lasers enable precise cutting, drilling, and ablation of metals, semiconductors, ceramics, and glasses, polymerize organic materials with photosensitizers, and perform 3D processing inside transparent substrates, leading to applications such as medical stents, photomask repair, ink‑jet nozzle drilling, and solar‑cell patterning.

Abstract

The unique characteristics of ultrafast lasers, such as picosecond and femtosecond lasers, have opened up new avenues in materials processing that employ ultrashort pulse widths and extremely high peak intensities. Thus, ultrafast lasers are currently used widely for both fundamental research and practical applications. This review describes the characteristics of ultrafast laser processing and the recent advancements and applications of both surface and volume processing. Surface processing includes micromachining, micro- and nanostructuring, and nanoablation, while volume processing includes two-photon polymerization and three-dimensional (3D) processing within transparent materials. Commercial and industrial applications of ultrafast laser processing are also introduced, and a summary of the technology with future outlooks are also given. Scientists in Asia have reviewed the role of ultrafast lasers in materials processing. Koji Sugioka from RIKEN in Japan and Ya Cheng from the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics in China describe how femtosecond and picosecond lasers can be used to perform useful tasks in both surface and volume processing. Such lasers can cut, drill and ablate a variety of materials with high precision, including metals, semiconductors, ceramics and glasses. They can also polymerize organic materials that contain a suitable photosensitizer and can three-dimensionally process inside transparent materials such as glass, and are already being used to fabricate medical stents, repair photomasks, drill ink-jet nozzles and pattern solar cells. The researchers also explain the characteristics of such lasers and the interaction of ultrashort, intense pulses of light with matter.