A method for separating a workpiece along a separation line by using laser pulses of a laser beam includes splitting the laser beam into a plurality of partial laser beams using a beam splitter optical unit, focusing the plurality of partial laser beams onto a surface of the workpiece and/or into a volume of the workpiece using a focusing optical unit, so that the plurality of partial laser beams are arranged next to one another and spaced apart from one another along the separation line, and ablating material of the workpiece along the separation line by introducing the laser pulses of the plurality of partial laser beams into the workpiece. The laser power per partial laser beam is adjusted depending on an ablation depth obtained in the workpiece.

A laser beam applying unit of a laser processing apparatus for processing a wafer includes a laser oscillator for emitting a pulsed laser beam having a wavelength transmittable through the wafer, a beam condenser for converging the pulsed laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator onto the wafer held on a chuck table, a beam splitter assembly disposed between the laser oscillator and the beam condenser, for splitting the pulsed laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator to form at least two converged spots on the wafer that are spaced from each other in X-axis directions, and a mask assembly disposed between the laser oscillator and the beam condenser, for reducing the width of the converged spots on the wafer in Y-axis directions to keep the converged spots on the wafer within the width of the projected dicing lines on the wafer.

A machining apparatus for laser machining a work-piece, in particular for laser cutting, is provided, having a device for generating a machining laser beam, for rough machining the work-piece, in particular for producing cuts with cut edges in the workpiece, and having a device for splitting the machining laser beam into at least two energy intensity ranges, wherein a first energy intensity range for rough machining of the workpiece has a greater time-integrated radiation energy than at least one second energy intensity range for at least partially fine machining a cut edge. Further provided is a method a for laser machining a workpiece.

A laser beam irradiation unit of a laser processing apparatus includes a first splitting unit that causes a laser beam emitted from a laser oscillator to branch into a first optical path and a second optical path, a first beam condenser that focuses the laser beam having been introduced to the first optical path, and a second beam condenser that focuses the laser beam having been introduced to the second optical path. The laser beam irradiation unit further includes a second splitting unit on the first optical path between the first splitting unit and the first beam condenser that splits the laser beam into at least two laser beams, and a laser beam scanning unit on the second optical path between the first splitting unit and the second beam condenser that executes scanning with the laser beam and introduces the laser beam to the second beam condenser.

A method of separating a wafer into at least two thinner wafers includes a pressing member placing step of placing a pressing member that is transmissive of a wavelength of a laser beam on a first surface of the wafer such that the pressing member is pressed against the first surface of the wafer, a separation initiating point forming step of forming a separation initiating point in the wafer by applying the laser beam whose wavelength is transmittable through the wafer to the wafer while positioning a focused spot of the laser beam within the wafer and moving the focused spot and the wafer relatively to each other along a first direction, and an indexing feed step of moving the focused spot and the wafer relatively to each other along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

A method and an apparatus for processing an object by generation of laser radiation as a collimated laser beam, influencing the intensity distribution and/or the phase progression over the cross section of the laser beam, splitting the laser beam into two partial beams, and deflection and focusing of the partial beams so that the partial beams are superimposed in a processing zone in the material of the object.

There are provided high power laser and laser mechanical earth removing equipment, and operations using laser cutting tools having stand off distances. These equipment provide high power laser beams, greater than 1 kW to cut and volumetrically remove targeted materials and to remove laser affected material with gravity assistance, mechanical cutters, fluid jets, scrapers and wheels. There is also provided a method of using this equipment in mining, road resurfacing and other earth removing or working activities.

A control unit performs first processing of irradiating an object with laser light while relatively moving a first converging point and a second converging point along a first line, in a state where a distance between the first converging point and a second converging point is set as a first distance, and performs second processing of irradiating the object with the laser light while relatively moving the first converging point and the second converging point along a second line, in a state where the distance between the first converging point and the second converging point is set to a second distance smaller than the first distance.

An irradiation device for additively manufacturing three-dimensional objects may include a beam generation device configured to generate an energy beam, an optical modulator including a micromirror array disposed downstream from the beam generation device, and a focusing lens assembly disposed downstream from the optical modulator. The micromirror array may include a plurality of micromirror elements configured to reflect a corresponding plurality of beam segment of the energy beam along a beam path incident upon the focusing lens assembly. The focusing lens assembly may include one or more lenses configured to focus the plurality of beam segments such that for respective ones of a plurality of modulation groups including a subset of micromirror elements, a corresponding subset of beam segments are focused to at least partially overlap with one another at a combination zone corresponding to the respective modulation group.

A refractive index writing system includes a pulsed laser source, an objective lens for focusing an output of the pulsed laser source to a focal spot in an optical material, and a scanner for relatively moving the focal spot with respect to the optical material along a scan region. A beam multiplexer divides the output of the laser source into at least two working beams that are focused to variously shaped focal spots within the optical material. A controller controls at least one of a temporal and a spatial offset between the focal spots of the working beams together with the relative speed and direction of the scanner for maintaining an energy profile within the optical material along the scan region above a nonlinear absorption threshold of the optical material and below a breakdown threshold of the optical materials.