A laser processing apparatus includes: a support portion configured to move along a first direction; a first moving portion configured to move along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction; a first attachment portion configured to move along a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction; a first laser processing head attached to the first attachment portion; a light source unit; and a first mirror attached to the first moving portion. The first laser processing head includes a first entrance portion and a first condensing portion. The light source unit includes a first emission portion. The first mirror is attached to the first moving portion to face the first emission portion in the second direction and face the first entrance portion in the third direction.

A laser processing apparatus irradiates a target with a laser light to form a modified region along a virtual plane in the target. The laser processing apparatus includes a support portion, an irradiation portion, a movement mechanism, and a controller. The controller performs a first processing process of irradiating a first portion in the target with the laser light under a first processing condition, and a second processing process of irradiating a second portion more on an inner side than the first portion in the target with the laser light under a second processing condition different from the first processing condition, after the first processing process.

Provided are a laser processing method and a laser processing device which prevent a laser irradiation unit from colliding with an edge of a plate material when the laser irradiation unit returns to a portion just above the plate material from an outer part of the portion just above the plate material. The laser processing method for cutting a plate material by laser irradiation, the method including: a plate material end portion holding process of holding a position of an end portion of the plate material at a predetermined position when a laser irradiation unit is present outside a portion just above the plate material; and a laser irradiation unit moving process in which the laser irradiation unit moves from an outer part of the portion just above the plate material to the portion just above the plate material.

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to apparatus and methods for semiconductor processing, more particularly, to a thermal process chamber. In one or more embodiments, a process chamber comprises a first window, a second window, a substrate support disposed between the first window and the second window, and a motorized rotatable radiant spot heating source disposed over the first window and configured to provide radiant energy through the first window.

The disclosure relates to methods and systems for piercing, drilling, or cutting metal workpieces in a laser processing operation. The methods include focusing a pulsed laser beam onto a processing location on a workpiece; detecting process radiation emitted from the processing location; determining an intensity of the process radiation at a plurality of temporally sequential times during pulse pauses; determining an intensity gradient of the process radiation; comparing the intensity gradient with a gradient threshold value; and detecting a spontaneous material removal on the workpiece when the number of times the gradient threshold value has been exceeded is above a predetermined limit value. When a spontaneous material removal is detected, the system changes one or both of a laser parameter and a processing parameter of the laser processing operation. The disclosure also relates to processing machines for carrying out the methods.

As first-time laser irradiation is performed on a workpiece, an initial nugget is formed. By emitting a laser beam for the second time at the initial nugget, a diameter of a back-side nugget portion is increased. A nugget includes a front-side nugget portion formed in a first plate, the back-side nugget portion formed in a second plate, and an annular flat surface portion. The flat surface portion is along a boundary portion between the first plate and the second plate. In a thicknesswise cross section of the second plate, a tilt angle of a peripheral surface of the back-side nugget portion is increased as a thicknesswise position of the peripheral surface approximates to a rear face of the second plate.

A galvano scanner unit vibrates a laser beam when sheet metal is cut by irradiation of the sheet metal with the laser beam while a machining head is relatively moved with respect to the sheet metal. A focusing lens drive section moves a focal point of the laser beam with which the sheet metal is irradiated in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to a surface of the sheet metal. A focal position control section controls the focusing lens drive section to locate the focal point of the laser beam in a predetermined position in the orthogonal direction. A galvano control section controls the galvano scanner unit to change an amplitude with which the laser beam is vibrated, according to a position of the focal point in the orthogonal direction.

A CNC machine includes a lower body; an upper body that extends from the lower body and is movably attached to the lower body; a tool that is movably attached to the upper body; and a flexible mat that is attached to the lower body. The tool may be a laser generator with the flexible mat resistant to the laser beam. The flexible mat has at least one orientation such that an outer periphery of the flexible mat is greater than the full extent of range of motion of the tool. The upper body may be connected to the lower body by a pivot mechanism configured to allow the upper body to pivot from a first position to a second position and to rotationally fix the upper body relative to the lower body in the second position, with the first and second positions being ninety degrees apart.

A system that uses a scalable array of individually controllable laser beams that are generated by a fiber array system to process materials into an object. The adaptive control of individual beams may include beam power, focal spot width, centroid position, scanning orientation, amplitude and frequency, piston phase and polarization states of individual beams. Laser beam arrays may be arranged in a two dimensional cluster and configured to provide a pre-defined spatiotemporal laser power density distribution, or may be arranged linearly and configured to provide oscillating focal spots along a wide processing line. These systems may also have a set of material sensors that gather information on a material and environment immediately before, during, and immediately after processing, or a set of thermal management modules that pre-heat and post-heat material to control thermal gradient, or both.

A control device controls a beam vibrating mechanism to vibrate a laser beam in a C-shaped vibration pattern in which a beam spot is moved from a first irradiation position at a front end in a cutting advancing direction to a second irradiation position at a rear side and displaced in an orthogonal direction to the cutting advancing direction, and is moved from the second irradiation position to a third irradiation position at a front end and displaced in the orthogonal direction to the cutting advancing direction, and movement from the first irradiation position to the third irradiation position via the second irradiation position, and movement from the third irradiation position to the first irradiation position via the second irradiation position are repeated. The control device performs control to cut the sheet metal by causing beam spots in the first to third irradiation positions to overlap one another.