More than 20 years ago, the only real ultraviolet (UV) laser used in production was an excimer laser, with a typical pulse width of about 20 ns. It was also called an ultrafast pulse (UFP) laser at the time. In fact, with a 2ns laser pointer, there were some applications at that time. After selecting a pulse width of low nanoseconds, the process quality showed a significant difference.
On the other side of the visible spectrum, almost all lasers or their derivatives are used to process infrared. At that time, infrared fiber lasers (and disk lasers) did not have any industrial significance, even today they are the main force of the industry. The research work on the visible part of the spectrum was just beginning at that time.
In the past 10 years, ultra-fast pulse technology-that is, a laser with a pulse width of <1ns has become the standard in the production workshop. Therefore, when choosing the right ultraviolet (UV) laser for a specific task, there are some options for reference. In addition, when purchasing an ultrafast pulsed laser operating in the UV, visible and infrared wavelength range, a solution is usually provided together. In a typical manufacturing environment, usually only one wavelength is used, because in this environment, the number of parts and materials that need to be processed is very small.
For R&D or similar workshop environments, all three wavelengths are often required. In our laboratory, we have nanosecond, picosecond, and femtosecond lasers, all of which operate at infrared, visible, and ultraviolet wavelengths, so that customers can investigate a variety of possibilities for their processing tasks Choose the correct configuration.
Green laser pointer with output characteristics close to the origin (lower left) are ideal for processing tasks that achieve the highest quality characteristics because they have both short wavelengths and short pulse widths. The lasers on the upper right have long pulse widths and infrared wavelengths, so these lasers are generally not suitable for micromachining applications, although they may be very useful in other fields such as welding, joining, surface treatment, and additive manufacturing. It is worth noting that there is no mention of the application of lasers with output characteristics as shown on the upper left—the use of long-pulse UV lasers is somewhat counterproductive for most applications. Therefore, this article focuses on lasers enclosed in the blue shaded area.