A thermal processing apparatus and method in which a first laser source, for example, a CO.sub.2 emitting at 10.6 μm is focused onto a silicon wafer as a line beam and a second laser source, for example, a GaAs laser bar emitting at 808 nm is focused onto the wafer as a larger beam surrounding the line beam. The two beams are scanned in synchronism in the direction of the narrow dimension of the line beam to create a narrow heating pulse from the line beam when activated by the larger beam. The energy of GaAs radiation is greater than the silicon bandgap energy and creates free carriers. The energy of the CO.sub.2 radiation is less than the silicon bandgap energy so silicon is otherwise transparent to it, but the long wavelength radiation is absorbed by the free carriers.

Disclosed herein are a method and a device for forming a groove in a surface of a steel sheet. In the method for forming a groove in a surface of a steel sheet, in order to form grooves at a depth of 10% or less of a thickness of the steel sheet in the surface of the steel sheet by irradiating a laser beam, in the case in which laser beams are irradiated from a plurality of laser oscillators to a scan mirror, pass through the scan mirror, and are then irradiated to the surface of the steel sheet, two or more laser beams share one scan mirror with each other to minimize a thermal influence of groove portions at a high line speed of 20 mpm or more, thereby accomplishing iron loss improvement characteristics before (after) heat treatment.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of easily manufacturing a desired optical device at the inside of a transparent board. An optical device according to the present invention is manufactured by denaturing the vicinity of a hollow structure at the inside of the transparent board and deforming the shape of the hollow structure

A method of manufacturing a flexible device includes joining a first surface of a support substrate to a back surface of a flexible substrate, the first surface being opposite to a second surface of the support substrate; forming an element layer on a front surface of the flexible substrate; and performing multidirectional oblique irradiation of an interface and its vicinity between the support substrate and the flexible substrate with laser light from the second surface of the support substrate to detach the support substrate from the flexible substrate.

A method can include co-axially locating a turbine wheel and a shaft where a force applicator applies an axially directed force to the turbine wheel, where the turbine wheel transfers at least a portion of the force to shaft and where a rotatable shaft collet supports the shaft; rotating the rotatable shaft collet; energizing at least one laser beam; and, via the at least one laser beam, forming a weld between the turbine wheel and the shaft.

A method of generating uniform large-scale optical focus arrays (LOT As) with a phase spatial light modulator includes identifying and removing undesired phase rotation in the iterative Fourier transform algorithm (IFTA), thereby producing computer-generated holograms of highly uniform LOT As using a reduced number of iterations as compared to a weighted Gerch-berg-Saxton algorithm. The method also enables a faster compensation of optical system-induced LOT A intensity inhomogeneity than the conventional IFTA.

Methods and apparatus for separating substrates are disclosed, as are articles formed from the separated substrates. A method of separating a substrate having first and second surfaces includes directing a beam of laser light to pass through the first surface and, thereafter, to pass through the second surface. The beam of laser light has a beam waist located at a surface of the substrate or outside the substrate. Relative motion between the beam of laser light and the substrate is caused to scan a spot on a surface of the substrate to be scanned along a guide path. Portions of the substrate illuminated within the spot absorb light within the beam of laser light so that the substrate can be separated along the guide path.

A machine for additive manufacturing of components by sintering powder includes a framework, a working zone, at least two beam emission and control modules, and at least two actuators. Each module, which is structured to emit an energy beam and to control the energy beam, is mounted inside the framework and is provided with an emission source and an optical system for focusing the energy beam emitted from the source. Each module acts on the working zone to manufacture a same component. Each optical system is axially movable in translation with respect to the framework. The actuators are associated with the optical systems, respectively, and are arranged to adjust axial positions of the optical systems with respect to the working zone, the axial positions being adjustable independently of each other.

A method for welding a plurality of wire segment pairs is disclosed. Each wire segment pair has two adjacent wire segments, and each adjacent wire segment has a contact region where the wire segment is to be welded to the respective other wire segment. The wire segment pairs are successively guided between two elements of a pressing unit, and at a weld moment in which at least one of the wire segment pairs is located between the two elements. The pressing unit exerts a pressing force onto the wire segment pair such that the contact regions of the wire segments are pressed against each other. At each weld moment, laser radiation is irradiated onto the wire segment pair to which the pressing unit is exerting the pressing force, and the laser radiation is irradiated onto a region in which the contact regions are pressed against each other.

A laser array comprises first and second laser unit to respectively emit a first and second laser beams that propagate in a first and second directions and that are polarized in first and second polarization directions and a polarization coupling prism arranged to couple the two laser beams. The coupling prism comprises: a light entry surface to receive the first laser beam; a reflecting surface to reflect the first laser beam at an angle greater than the limit angle of total inner reflection; and a light exit surface through which the first laser beam exits the prism. The second laser unit is arranged relative to the polarization coupling prism to cause the second laser beam to impinge on and be reflected at the light exit surface in the same direction as the first laser beam exiting the prism, resulting in a collinear superposition of the first and second laser beams.