(Image: Lunovu)
Industrial laser applications specialist Agora (Geleen, Netherlands), laser-machining systems maker Lunovu (Aachen, Germany) and applied-research center Cewac (Saint-Jean, Belgium) have developed a novel ultrashort-pulse (USP) cold-ablation laser-machining system and brought it into operation. As part of the Cross Border Cluster Stimulation (GCS) project "New Micro Ablation Technology," the collaborative project is part of the Interreg initiative financed by the European Union's European Regional Development Fund.
Using pulse lengths down to a few picoseconds, the system cold-ablates microscopic structures such as holes, cuts, and recesses, with application in the manufacture of medical products and sensors used in the automotive industry. The system allows single laser pulses to be placed on the surface of any material at a high frequency and in an extremely precise way, according to Lunovu.
The completion and commissioning of the USP laser machine as part of the GCS research project is a key step towards industrial use of the results of the collaborative effort.