A fiber selector includes: a plurality of first reflecting members corresponding to a plurality of focusing optical systems which focus a laser beam from a collimating optical system, and equipped with a reflecting surface capable of reflecting the laser beam towards the focusing optical system; a rotary motor that rotationally moves the first reflecting member between a first position at which the laser beam reflects and a second position which does not block the laser beam, in which the fiber selector rotationally moves the plurality of first reflecting members between the first position and second position so as to selectively switch the propagating direction of the laser beam to any of the plurality of focusing optical systems, in which the reflecting surface of the first reflecting member is a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis of the shaft to which this first reflecting member is fixed, and is arranged so as to face the direction of the rotary motor that causes the shaft to which this first reflecting member is fixed to rotate.

Semiconductor wafer cutting is optimised by directing a plurality of laser beams at the wafer, with the laser beams being focused so that at least some of their respective focal points are located at different depths throughout the wafer.

A three dimensional printing system includes a laser system, a beam splitter, a pinhole, a sensor, and a controller. The laser system emits a light beam of varying diameter carrying at least 100 watts of optical power along an optical path. The laser has an imaging plane along the optical path which can be coincident or close to a focal plane at which the beam has a minimum diameter. The beam splitter is positioned along the optical path to receive the beam and to transmit most of the optical power and to reflect remaining optical power. The pinhole is positioned along the optical path at the imaging plane to receive the reflected beam having a minimal diameter. The controller is configured to analyze a signal from the sensor to determine intensity and distribution parameters for the light beam.

A method and an arrangement for finishing a steel strip including the texturing of the steel strip wherein a texture is applied to the surface of a moving steel strip by means of a single laser beam or a plurality of laser beams directed at the surface of a moving steel strip, and wherein the single laser beam or the plurality of laser beams are position controlled to apply a predetermined texture pattern on the surface of the moving steel strip.

An additive manufacturing system includes a platform, a dispenser to dispense a plurality of layers of feed material on a top surface of the platform, a light source to generate three light beams, a first polygon mirror scanner, a galvo mirror scanner, and a second polygon mirror scanner configured to direct the first, second and third light beams, respectively, to impinge the layer of the feed material on the platform, and a controller. The controller is configured to cause the light source and first and second polygon mirror scanners to apply the first light beam to a region of the layer of feed material, and to cause the light source and galvo mirror scanner to apply the second light beam to at least a portion of the region of the layer of feed material.

An additive manufacturing system includes a platform, a dispenser to dispense a plurality of layers of feed material on a top surface of the platform, a light source to generate a first light beam and a second light beam, a polygon mirror scanner, a galvo mirror scanner positioned adjacent to the polygon mirror scanner, and a controller. The controller is coupled to the light source, the polygon mirror scanner and the galvo mirror scanner, and the controller is configured to cause the light source and polygon mirror scanner to apply the first light beam to a region of the layer of feed material, and to cause the light source and galvo mirror scanner to apply the second light beam to at least a portion of the region of the layer of feed material.

A perforation system is disclosed that utilizes an optical beamlet generator and a scanner (e.g., at least two moveable mirrors). The optical beamlet generator may be a lenslet array or a diffractive optical element. The optical beamlet generator outputs a plurality of beamlets from a single input laser beam. These beamlets are moved in at least two dimensions relative to a surface of a substrate to form perforations in the substrate.

An apparatus for laser machining a workpiece includes a beam shaping device for forming a focal zone from an input laser beam incident on the beam shaping device, and a telescope device for imaging the focal zone into a material of the workpiece. The beam shaping device is configured to impose a phase on a beam cross section of the input laser beam in such a way that the focal zone extends along a longitudinal centre axis which is curved at least in certain portions. The telescope device is assigned a beam splitting device for splitting an output laser beam output coupled from the beam shaping device into a plurality of polarized partial beams, each of which has one of at least two different polarization states. The focal zone has an asymmetrical cross section in a plane oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal centre axis.

A laser processing head includes first and second contact points connected to a power source. The power source generates a current to flow through an electrode wire between the first and second contact points to heat the electrode wire. A laser source generates one or more laser beams having lasing power sufficient to at least partially melt the electrode wire. A coaxial laser head focuses the one or more laser beams at one or more focal points on a workpiece to at least partially melt the electrode wire.

A laser welding method includes a welding process of irradiating a multiple laser beam so as to weld together a first member and a second member at a boundary. The multiple laser beam includes a first beam that is advanced while forming a first molten pool in which the first member is melted, a second beam that is advanced while forming a second molten pool in which the second member is melted, and a main beam that is advanced subsequently to the first beam and the second beam and irradiated to an integrated molten pool formed by integration of the first molten pool and the second molten pool. The first beam and the second beam do not swing, while the main beam swings with respect to the boundary.