What are the differences in the applications of picosecond, femtosecond and nanosecond laser cutting?

Nanosecond, picosecond, and femtosecond are time units, 1 second = 103 milliseconds = 106 microseconds = 109 nanoseconds = 1012 picoseconds = 1015 femtoseconds, picosecond laser cutting machine and nanosecond laser cutting machine refer to the single pulse time of picosecond laser, which refers to the pulse width of laser. The laser processing method is to focus the high-energy laser beam on the surface of the material to produce physical or chemical reactions to form cutting. It is essentially a heat treatment method, but due to the short working time and small heat-affected area, the processing effect and speed can be guaranteed.

In today's mainstream market, our common laser processing tool is a nanosecond laser. With the requirements of industrial technology, the scope of heat influence has expanded. Since the market does not accept the derivative effect, new laser processing tools are needed to meet market demand, which is also a technological breakthrough in the laser industry. We call it a micro-precision ultrafast laser processing system, usually called a picosecond laser cutting machine or a femtosecond laser cutting machine.

The pulse time of the picosecond laser cutting machine is ultra-short, and the single pulse time is only a few picoseconds. Its thermal influence is very small and can even be ignored. Compared with the processing of the nanosecond laser cutting machine, there is no recasting of materials in the entire processing process, the processing process is clean, and the absorption of laser energy is less dependent on materials or wavelengths. Therefore, in the field of micro-precision laser processing, picosecond laser cutting machines and femtosecond laser cutting machines provide a broad space for development, and their processing characteristics are destined to their important position in the future.

Picosecond laser cutting machine has better processing effect and processing speed than nanosecond laser. In the market application field, picosecond laser also has a broader space, such as solar cell laser etching (narrow line width), OLED laser cutting (small edge), brittle material laser punching (faster), etc., mainly due to the influence of heat affected zone. From the following we can intuitively see the difference between ultrafast picosecond laser and nanosecond laser. In the figure, we found the heat affected zone of the material and the heat effect within nanoseconds, while the ultrafast picosecond laser cutting machine can almost ignore the heat effect, so the processing effect is more ideal. At the same time, the working time is short, the precision is high, and the processing speed is fast.

Picosecond laser cutting machines have short pulse times, with a single pulse action time of only a few picoseconds, so their thermal effect is very small and can even be ignored. Compared with nanosecond laser cutting machines, the entire processing process does not require recasting materials and cleaning processes, and the absorption of laser energy is less dependent on materials or wavelengths. Therefore, in the field of micro-precision laser processing, picosecond laser cutting machines and femtosecond laser cutting machines provide a broad space for play, and their processing characteristics are destined to play an important role in the future.

Compared with nanosecond laser, picosecond laser has not only good processing effect and processing speed, but also has the advantages of solar cell laser etching (narrow line), OLED laser cutting (small), brittle material laser punching (fast and large space figure, we found that the material has a heat-affected zone and thermal effect, the thermal effect of ultrafast picosecond laser cutting is almost negligible, and the processing effect is more ideal. At the same time, the working time is short, the precision is high, and the processing speed is fast.

Although nanosecond laser cutting machine is still the main cutting machine in the market, with the rapid development of precision cutting technology, the requirements for laser cutting equipment are getting higher and higher, and micro-precision laser processing equipment will penetrate into all walks of life.

Due to the characteristics of low heat, cold melting and high precision, the ultrafast picosecond laser cutting machine has extraordinary performance in materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, titanium alloy, sapphire, ceramics, glass, etc., and is widely used in scientific research, biological instruments, solar photovoltaic, electronic product manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing and other fields.

Of course, the mainstream laser processing market on the market is still dominated by nanosecond lasers. Due to the high cost of picosecond ultrafast laser cutting machines, the future trend will inevitably develop into the picosecond and femtosecond fields, which can be expected in the future.