A thermal processing apparatus and method in which a first laser source, for example, a CO.sub.2 emitting at 10.6 ?m 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.

A laser machining device includes a plurality of oscillators to emit laser beams having different wavelengths from each other; a machining head to emit laser beams emitted from the respective oscillators to a machining object; a plurality of transmission fibers to transmit the laser beams to the machining head; a wavelength dispersion element; and a focusing lens to superpose the laser beams emitted from the transmission fibers, wherein the wavelength dispersion element is arranged at a position at which the laser beams are superposed by the focusing lens.

In various embodiments, emitter modules include a laser source and (a) a refractive optic, (b) an output coupler, or (c) both a refractive optic and an output coupler. Either or both of these may be situated on mounts that facilitate two-axis rotation. The mount may be, for example, a conventional, rotatively adjustable tip/tilt mount or gimbal arrangement. In the case of the refractive optic, either the optic itself or the beam path may be adjusted; that is, the optic may be on a tip/tilt mount or the optic may be replaced with two or more mirrors each on tip/tilt mount.

A method for the laser-based machining of a sheet-like substrate, in order to separate the substrate into multiple portions, in which the laser beam of a laser for machining the substrate is directed onto the latter, is characterized in that, with an optical arrangement positioned in the path of rays of the laser, an extended laser beam focal line, seen along the direction of the beam, is formed on the beam output side of the optical arrangement from the laser beam directed onto the latter, the substrate being positioned in relation to the laser beam focal line such that an induced absorption is produced in the material of the substrate in the interior of the substrate along an extended portion, seen in the direction of the beam, of the laser beam focal line, such that a material modification takes place in the material of the substrate along this extended portion.

Provided is a laser scribing device including: a laser light source for outputting a laser beam; a splitter for dividing the laser beam into a first laser beam and a second laser beam; a beam expander telescope for adjusting a divergent angle on a path of the first laser beam or a path of the second laser beam; a beam combiner for combining the first laser beam and the second laser beam; and a light-collecting lens for light-collecting the first and second laser beams that are combined by the beam combiner, wherein the first laser beam and the second laser beam have different focal distances.

A direct diode laser processing apparatus includes a laser oscillator that emits a multiple-wavelength laser beam, a transmission fiber that transmits the multiple-wavelength laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator, and a laser processing machine that condenses the multiple-wavelength laser beam transmitted through the transmission fiber and processes a workpiece. According to chromatic aberrations of the multiple-wavelength laser beam and the wavelength dependence of emissivity of the workpiece, a light intensity distribution of the multiple-wavelength laser beam in a thickness direction of the workpiece is provided with a plurality of peaks.

A laser beam machine includes a number of laser modules that each generate a laser beam and a combiner that collects a plurality of laser beams generated from the laser modules to output one laser beam. The laser beam machine further includes a plurality of driving power supplies that supply power to the laser modules, respectively, a calculation device that calculates a driving condition for each of the laser modules according to a received machining condition, and a power-supply control apparatus that causes the driving power supplies to supply power to the laser modules in accordance with the driving condition. The calculation device controls the power-supply control apparatus to reduce differences in integrated laser-output times of the laser beams generated by the laser modules.

An invisible laser system and an optical path visualization method thereof are disclosed. The invisible laser system comprises an invisible laser light generator for generating invisible laser light; a visible light generator for generating visible light; and an optical path visualization component arranged in optical paths of the invisible and visible light, and comprising a first and second incident end and a first outgoing end. The invisible laser light is incident on the first incident end, and the visible light is incident on the second incident end. All of the invisible laser light and at least part of the visible light are emitted in parallel with each other at the first outgoing end. All of the invisible laser light is present in a direction parallel with the optical path of the visible light, and no invisible laser light is present in other directions, so radiation risks are eliminated.

Systems and techniques for processing materials using wavelength beam combining for high-power operation in concert with interferometry to detect the depth or height of features as they are created.

A method for the laser-based machining of a sheet-like substrate, in order to separate the substrate into multiple portions, in which the laser beam of a laser for machining the substrate is directed onto the latter, is characterized in that, with an optical arrangement positioned in the path of rays of the laser, an extended laser beam focal line, seen along the direction of the beam, is formed on the beam output side of the optical arrangement from the laser beam directed onto the latter, the substrate being positioned in relation to the laser beam focal line such that an induced absorption is produced in the material of the substrate in the interior of the substrate along an extended portion, seen in the direction of the beam, of the laser beam focal line, such that a material modification takes place in the material of the substrate along this extended portion.