A method of cutting a glass sheet comprising a transparent oxide glass includes directing a laser beam from a middle-infrared (mid-IR) laser source onto a major surface of the glass sheet. A wavelength of the laser beam is tuned thereby adjusting an absorption depth of the laser beam in the glass sheet. The glass sheet is cut using the laser beam.

A glass sheet processing method is provided for irradiating a laser beam on a glass sheet and forming a cleavage in the glass sheet with thermal stress. If each of an irradiation area of the laser beam on the surface and an irradiation area of the laser beam on the back face of the glass sheet includes a peak position of a power density of the laser beam, each irradiation area has an asymmetrical power density distribution that is asymmetrical with respect to a reference line that passes through the peak position and is parallel to a moving direction of the peak position. If each irradiation area has no peak position, each irradiation area has an asymmetrical shape that is asymmetrical with respect to a reference line that passes through a centroid position of the irradiation area and is parallel to a moving direction of the centroid position.

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.

Processes of chamfering and/or beveling an edge of a glass or other substrate of arbitrary shape using lasers are described herein. Three general methods to produce chamfers on glass substrates are disclosed. The first method involves cutting the edge with the desired chamfer shape utilizing an ultra-short pulse laser. Treatment with the ultra-short laser may be optionally followed by a CO.sub.2 laser for fully automated separation. The second method is based on thermal stress peeling of a sharp edge corner, and it has been demonstrated to work with different combination of an ultrashort pulse and/or CO.sub.2 lasers. A third method relies on stresses induced by ion exchange to effect separation of material along a fault line produced by an ultra-short laser to form a chamfered edge of desired shape.

A chamfering apparatus includes: a laser beam transmissive member allowing a laser beam to be transmitted therethrough and contacting one surface of a workpiece, the laser beam transmissive member including an inclined surface that is inclined in an opposite direction to a chamfering direction relative to the one surface in a state where the laser beam transmissive member is in contact with the one surface; and a laser machining head configured to emit an ultrashort pulse laser beam for forming a laser filament inside an edge portion to the inclined surface of the laser beam transmissive member. The ultrashort pulse laser beam is transmitted through the laser beam transmissive member, incident on the one surface of the workpiece from the laser beam transmissive member, transmitted through the edge portion in the chamfering direction, and forms a laser filament inside the edge portion, the laser filament extending in the chamfering direction.

Provided is a method comprises: continuously forming an elongated, glass film having marginal portions from molten glass into a given shape having two marginal portions, in width-directional opposite edge regions thereof, wherein the glass film having marginal portions has the marginal portions, and an effective portion formed in a width-directional central region of the glass film having marginal portions; annealing the glass film having marginal portions; continuously forming resin tapes on the glass film having marginal portions at positions adjacent to and away by a given distance from the respective marginal portions, to extend in a length direction of the glass film having marginal portions; and continuously removing each of the marginal portions from the glass film having marginal portions, along a position between the marginal portion and a corresponding one of the resin tapes, or at a given width-directional position within the corresponding resin tape.

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.

A method for cutting a thin glass including the steps of guiding, by a transport device, the thin glass ribbon over a levitation support, and directing, within a range of the levitation support, a laser beam onto the thin glass ribbon, which heats up the thin glass ribbon at an impingement point of the laser beam. The method also includes the step of blowing, by a cooling jet generator, a cooling fluid onto the track heated by the laser beam so that a region heated by the laser beam is cooled down and a mechanical stress is created. The cooling fluid contains vapor of a liquid at a saturation ratio of at least 0.5 or a plurality of liquid droplets. The liquid droplets form a contact angle on a surface of the thin glass ribbon which is smaller than that of water on the same surface.

A method for processing a transparent mother sheet includes forming one or more closed contours in the transparent mother sheet that each define a perimeter of a transparent article. Forming each of the one or more closed contours includes directing a pulsed laser beam into the transparent mother sheet to produce defect within the transparent mother sheet and translating the transparent mother sheet and the pulsed laser beam relative to each other thereby laser forming defects along the one or more closed contours. The method further includes separating a portion of the transparent mother sheet along the closed contours, thereby forming one or more transparent articles, where the transparent articles are frictionally engaged with a frame portion of the transparent mother sheet, applying material to a surface the transparent articles, and releasing the transparent articles from frictional engagement with the frame portion.

Methods are provided for laser processing arbitrary shapes of molded 3D thin transparent brittle parts from substrates with particular interest in substrates formed from strengthened or non-strengthened Corning Gorilla glass (all codes). The developed laser methods can be tailored for manual separation of the parts from the panel or full laser separation by thermal stressing the desired profile. Methods can be used to form 3D surfaces with small radii of curvature. The method involves the utilization of an ultra-short pulse laser that may be optionally followed by a CO.sub.2 laser for fully automated separation.