The present invention provides for an electroactive device having a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer, and one or more electroactive layers sandwiched between the first and second conductive layers. One or more adjacent layers of the electroactive device may include a physical separation between a first portion and a second portion of the adjacent layers, the physical separation defining a respective tapered sidewall of each of the first and second portions. The one or more adjacent layers may include one of the first and second conductive layers. The remaining layers of the electroactive device may be formed over the physical separation of the one or more adjacent layers. The remaining layers may include the other of the first and second conductive layers.

A method of processing an object with a light beam includes the following steps: projecting a light beam onto the object via a first scanner so as to produce a heated area by locally heating the object; displacing the heated area along a track on the object; capturing images of a first portion of the object with a first camera, via the first scanner; and capturing images of a second portion of the object with a second camera, via a second scanner.

The first scanner and the second scanner are operated so that the first camera captures images of the heated area, whereas the second camera captures images of portions of the object behind and/or ahead of the heated area.

Methods, devices, apparatus, and systems are described for separating workpiece parts from workpieces using a focused machining beam. The methods include creating a trough in the workpiece using the focused machining beam, the trough being created along at least one section of a contour of the at least one workpiece part to be separated from the workpiece, altering a focal position of the machining beam such that the machining beam has a smaller beam diameter on the workpiece, and creating a gap in the workpiece using the machining beam with the altered focal position along at least one section of the contour of the at least one workpiece part to be separated from the workpiece. The gap is created at least partially within the trough.

A test device to calibrate the pulse energy of a laser device which provides pulsed laser radiation includes a measuring head with multiple measuring probes. The test device is used in such a way that by means of the laser radiation, multiple test ablations are made on a test surface, in an arrangement corresponding to the relative spatial arrangement of the measuring probes, and the depths of the test ablations are then measured, with simultaneous use of the multiple measuring probes of the measuring head.

A direct diode laser processing apparatus includes a laser oscillator including a plurality of laser diodes and emitting a multiple-wavelength laser beam, a transmission fiber transmitting the multiple-wavelength laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator, a laser processing machine collecting the multiple-wavelength laser beam transmitted through the transmission fiber and processes a workpiece, a detecting mechanism sampling part of the multiple-wavelength laser beam and detecting wavelength-by-wavelength light intensities of the sampled laser beam, a monitoring unit monitoring an output decrease in the multiple-wavelength laser beam according to a change in the wavelength-by-wavelength light intensities, and a control module controlling outputs of the plurality of laser diodes according to a monitored result from the monitoring unit. The apparatus properly monitors an output decrease in the multiple-wavelength laser beam.

A shaping apparatus is equipped with: a beam shaping system having a beam irradiation section that includes a condensing optical system which emits a beam and a material processing section which supplies a shaping material irradiated by the beam from the beam irradiation section; and a controller which, on the basis of 3D data of a three-dimensional shaped object to be formed on a target surface, controls a workpiece movement system and the beam shaping system such that a target portion on the target surface is shaped by supplying the shaping material from the material processing section while moving the beam from the beam irradiation section and the target surface on a workpiece (or a table) relative to each other. Further the intensity distribution of the beam in the shaping plane facing the emitting surface of the condensing optical system can be modified.

A laser cladding tool head and a machined surface sensing method thereof are provided for a computer numerical control (CNC) machining center. The laser cladding tool head has a temperature sensing module and a camera sensing module, which can sense the temperature, lightness, and profile of a molten pool, and then provide them to a computer numerical control unit for a feedback control, so as to increase the processing effect and quality of a work-piece.

A method and apparatus is described that allows accurate control of the width of fine line structures ablated by lasers in thin films on substrates when using scanner and focussing lens systems. The method provides dynamic compensation for optical distortions introduced by the scan lens at off axis points by increasing the laser power or energy in the beam in order to overcome the reduction in power or energy density.

Working equipment includes a tool configured to work a structure at a working location thereon, with the structure having an applied marking at a known location with a known relationship with the working location. A computer system is configured to determine placement of the structure, and accordingly position the tool into at least partial alignment with the working location, and which in at least one instance, the tool is aligned with a second, offset location. A camera is configured to capture an image of the structure and including the marking, and further including the second location with which the tool is aligned. And the computer system is configured to process the image to locate the working location, reposition the tool from the second location and into greater alignment with the located working location, and control the repositioned tool to work the structure at the located working location.

An optical delivery waveguide for a material laser processing system includes a small lens at an output end of the delivery waveguide, transforming laser beam divergence inside the waveguide into a spot size after the lens. By varying the input convergence angle and/or launch angle of the laser beam launched into the waveguide, the output spot size can be continuously varied, thus enabling a continuous and real-time laser spot size adjustment on the workpiece, without having to replace the delivery waveguide or a process head. A divergence of the laser beam can also be adjusted dynamically and in concert with the spot size.