Improved laser glass cutting by spatio-temporal control of energy deposition using bursts of femtosecond pulses

We demonstrate the advantage of combining non-diffractive beam shapes and femtosecond bursts for volume laser processing of transparent materials. By re-distribution of the single laser pulse energy into several sub-pulses with 25 ns time delay, the energy deposition in the material can be enhanced significantly. Our combined experimental and theoretical analysis shows that in burst-mode detrimental defocusing by the laser generated plasma is reduced, and the non-diffractive beam shape prevails. At the same time, heat accumulation during the interaction with the burst leads to temperatures high enough to induce material melting and even in-volume cracks. In an exemplary case study, we demonstrate that the formation of these cracks can be controlled to allow high-speed and high-quality glass cutting. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement