A stealth dicing apparatus may include a laser light source, and a linearly focusing lens configured to linearly focus a beam output from the laser light source. The linearly focusing lens includes a horizontal surface, and an inclined surface forming an inclination angle with the horizontal surface. The inclination angle satisfies an expression 34.97R.sup.2−146.6R+162.5<α<52.45R.sup.2−207.6R+224.9, where ‘α’ is the inclination angle and ‘R’ is a refractive index of the linearly focusing lens.

Disclosed are methods and apparatus for cleaning a substrate, such as a fabric material, involving the application of optical energy to the substrate, typically in the form of a beam of light, where the energy of the beam causes removal of the contaminant from substrate, such as from the fibres of a fabric material. The cleaning may occur via any mechanism, including one or more of, alone or in any combination, ablation, melting, heating or reaction with the substrate or contaminant or agent introduced to aid in the cleaning. The optical energy is typically applied to a selected area of the substrate (e.g., as a beam), and the substrate and beam or optical energy source moved relative to one another so as to clean a larger area of the substrate, either by moving the substrate or the beam, or both. Movement of the beam with respect to the substrate can be attained through a beam scanning mechanism or through movement of the optical source itself.

A method for laser processing a transparent workpiece includes focusing a pulsed laser beam output by a pulsed laser beam source into a pulsed laser beam focal line directed into the transparent workpiece, thereby forming a pulsed laser beam spot on the transparent workpiece and producing a defect within the transparent workpiece, directing an infrared laser beam output onto the transparent workpiece to form an annular infrared beam spot that circumscribes the pulsed laser beam spot at the imaging surface and heats the transparent workpiece. Further, the method includes translating the transparent workpiece and the pulsed laser beam focal line relative to each other along a separation path and translating the transparent workpiece and the annular infrared beam spot relative to each other along the separation path synchronous with the translation of the transparent workpiece and the pulsed laser beam focal line relative to each other.

A method of fiber laser processing of thin film deposited on a substrate includes providing a laser beam from at least one fiber laser which is guided through a beam-shaping unit onto the thin film. The beam-shaping optics is configured to shape the laser beam into a line beam which irradiates a first irradiated thin film area Ab on a surface of the thin film, with the irradiated thin film area Ab being a fraction of the thin film area Af. By continuously displacing the beam shaping optics and the film relative to one another in a first direction at a distance dy between sequential irradiations, a sequence of uniform irradiated thin film areas Ab are formed on the film surface defining thus a first elongated column. Thereafter the beam shaped optics and film are displaced relative to one another at a distance dx in a second direction transverse to the first direction with the distance dx being smaller than a length of the irradiated film area Ab. With the steps performed to form respective columns, the elongated columns overlap one another covering the desired thin film area Af. The dx and dy distances are so selected that that each location of the film area Af is exposed to the shaped laser beam during a cumulative predetermined duration.

An optical arrangement converts laser beams from at least two laser light sources into a combination beam, which has a beam waist. The optical arrangement has: an optical beam guidance system having at least two separate optical channels for the laser beams, each of the optical channels having an optical terminator for exiting a respective channel output beam of the relevant one of the optical channels; and a deflecting body, which is associated with only one of the optical channels. The deflecting body is configured such that only the respective channel output beam of the associated one of the optical channels is captured and the captured channel output beam is deflected in a direction of a focus region.

Aspects described herein relate to additive manufacturing systems and related methods. An additive manufacturing system may include two or more laser energy sources and associated optical fibers. An optics assembly may be constructed and arranged to form a rectangular laser energy pixel associated with each laser energy source. Each pixel may have a substantially uniform power density, and the pixels may be arranged to form a linear array of laser energy pixels on a build surface with no spacing between the pixels. Exposure of a portion of a layer of material on the build surface to the linear array of laser energy pixels may melt the portion of the layer.

A beam delivery system including a shield which includes at least one beam passage for transmission of at least one laser beam; an optics assembly configured to at least partly focus the at least one laser beam on the at least one beam passage; and means for providing a fluid flow through the at least one beam passage. Also provided is a train and a transport system, as well as a beam delivery method that includes: transmitting at least one laser beam through a respective at least one beam passage of a shield; at least partly focusing the at least one laser beam on the at least one beam passage; and providing a fluid flow through the at least one beam passage.

A through-glass via hole formation method, includes: an internal deformation region formation step in which an internal deformation region is formed inside a glass substrate at a predetermined distance from a surface of the glass substrate; a surface etching step in which the glass substrate is thinned by immersing the glass substrate in an etching solution such that a portion of the surface of the glass substrate, at which the internal deformation region is not formed, is etched and removed at a first etching rate; and a through-glass via hole formation step in which, with the glass substrate immersed in the etching solution, the internal deformation region is etched and removed at a second etching rate higher than the first etching rate such that a through-glass via hole is formed in the glass substrate along the internal deformation region.

Device for generating a linear intensity distribution in a working plane (20), comprising at least one laser light source (11), optics (14) which shape the light (12) emitted by the at least one laser light source (11) in a first direction (X) and/or in a second direction (Y), a beam transformation device (13) increasing the beam quality factor (M.sub.x.sup.2) with respect to the first direction (X) and decreasing the beam quality factor (M.sub.y.sup.2) with respect to the second direction (Y), as well as an objective (17) acting in the second direction (Y) and a focusing device (18) acting in the second direction (Y), which is arranged behind the objective (17), wherein the objective (17) and the focusing device (18) image into the working plane (20) a plane (19) behind the beam transformation device (13) in which the light (12) in the second direction (Y) has an intensity distribution with a super-Gaussian profile or with a profile similar to a super-Gaussian profile.

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.