Inventors:
Corey M. Dunsky - Los Gatos CA
Hisashi Matsumoto - Hillsboro OR
Richard S. Harris - Portland OR
John T. Kennedy - Granby CT
Vernon A. Seguin - Windsor CT
Leon Newman - Glastonbury CT
Assignee:
Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. - Portland OR
Coherent, Inc. - Santa Clara CA
International Classification:
B23K 2638
Abstract:
An EOM Q-switched CO laser produces bursts of laser pulses delivered at a high PRF such as 20-140 kHz and having a short high-power spike of about 80-150 ns followed by a lower-power tail of about 0. 05-12. 0 s. The bursts and/or laser pulses can be shaped by controlling the RF pumping duty cycle, the delay between the onset of RF pumping and the initiation of Q-switching, the pulse repetition frequency, and/or the duration of the tail. The bursts of laser pulses can be adapted to facilitate machining of metal layers and/or layers containing materials having disparate vaporization temperatures and/or disparate melting points, such as FR4 or green ceramics.