Monthly Archives: October 2015

Micromachining Sapphire

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UV Nanosecond Lasers Enable Finer Detail

By Jan-Willem Pieterse

CO2 lasers have long been the laser of choice for processing applications due to their power/cost ratio. CO2 lasers in sapphire create a classic melt pool, which can be blown out to achieve a full cut. However, the cut is often too crude for semiconductor applications.

Pulsed UV lasers enable machining with much finer detail, and their lack of excess heat adds another benefit — Each pulse removes a small amount of material but the high repetition rate turns it into a fast process.

Nanosecond Nd:YAG lasers can micromachine sapphire substrates of any shape and a wide variety of thicknesses. A combination of 3D cutting and a galvanometer-scanner system delivers high accuracy and edge smoothness. Continue reading →

Refining Weld Seams

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Reduced Ambient Pressure Improves Solid-State Laser Performance & Reduces Spatter

By Christian Börner and Klaus Dilger

In the German publicly funded research project “LaReD,” investigations are conducted to exploit the potential of high brilliance solid-state lasers and enhance the quality of the joints they produce. This project is being carried out at the Institute of Joining and Welding in Braunschweig, Germany, and is supported by the German Welding Society.

The objective is to enable the use of these modern solid-state lasers for components with the highest requirements on weld seam quality — e.g., in gearbox manufacturing for the automotive industry. In this case, a process environment  featuring reduced pressure during the welding procedure constitutes the crucial difference when producing high-quality weld seams. To be clear, this is not a vacuum, but only a reduced pressure. The characteristics of the weld quality improvement already occur under a reduced pressure of about 100 hPa and are fully completed in a pressure range from 10 to 1 hPa. Continue reading →

ICALEO 2015 – Opening Plenary Recap

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LIA Executive Director Peter Baker started us off by welcoming everyone including first time attendees. Peter also reminded everyone to join us next year in San Diego.

Following Peter Baker was current LIA President Robert Thomas who thanked everyone for their support during his presidency.  He also recognized the ICALEO Sponsors, Vendors,  and Attendees.  Mr. Thomas also discussed peer reviewed papers and the added value they bring to the ICALEO event. <Watch the video here>

Silke Pflueger had a few opening words and introduced the conference chairs. An important point that Dr. Pflueger made was the lack of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. She challenged us all as individuals, as companies, and as a society to encourage young women to pursue interests in these fields.

Dr. Ellen Townes-Anderson highlighted the Plenary and set the laser tone of the conference with her presentation “Welding” Nerve Cells Together with Laser Tweezers. Dr. Anderson is one of four daughters of laser pioneer Charles Townes and niece of LIA’s founding father Arthur L Schawlow. Ellen provided a personal perspective of her father as she shared how he wrote her a note regarding the use of lasers in biomed applications as early as 1962 and how he worked up until two months of his death this year.

After our morning break Adela Ben-Yakar made a presentation on Clinical Femtosecond Laser Microsurgery guided with Multiphoton Microscopy. Her presentation was very interesting and it is amazing how a once debilitating surgery can be performed with less long term negative effects. One example she cited was surgery performed on the larynx to remove cancer that traditionally would have required the larynx to be removed.

Our final presenter of the day, Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, discussed translating light based technologies to patient care. Lasers can be used in medical care for much earlier detection of health related problems. Earlier detection not only helps save lives, but can make recovery time much shorter. Anita also discussed ways to apply technology in clinical applications.

Heading into the lunch break one thing is certain, the speakers have started ICALEO off in the right direction with one minor caveat; If all the technical sessions are as interesting, informative, and captivating… it is going be difficult to choose between them.

 

 

 

 

ICALEO 2015 Speakers Shine

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Expanding the Bounds of Laser Materials Processing Research

While the opening and closing plenary sessions of the International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO®) are always a major draw, the invited papers that will be presented throughout the five-day conference are a treasure trove of novel laser research and applications.

ICALEO will take place in Atlanta, GA this year on Oct. 18-22, where about two dozen invited papers — presentations given special attention by conference and session chairs — are scheduled. Chaired for the first time by Silke Pflueger of DirectPhotonics, Pflueger is also joined by three other conference chairs: Laser Materials Processing Conference Chair Christoph Leyens, Laser Microprocessing Conference Chair Michelle Stock, and returning Nanomanufacturing Conference Chair Yongfeng Lu. With last year’s implementation of a peer-review process, ICALEO 2015 is yet again slated to be the premier conference for the latest in laser materials processing research and technology. Continue reading →

ANSI Z136.6 Safe Use of Lasers Outdoors is Available for Pre-orders!

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Orlando, FL, Oct. 12, 2015 – After ten years, the long awaited revision of the ANSI Z136.6 Safe Use of Lasers Outdoors is almost here! This standard, now available for pre-order, sees updates to nearly the entire document – expanding and modernizing the established topics and sections.

The 2015 revision of the ANSI Z136.6 Safe Use of Lasers Outdoors is the premier safety standard and a necessary tool for anyone operating a laser system in an open-air environment. This newly revised document provides guidance for the safe use of potentially hazardous lasers and laser systems (180 nm to 1 mm), where the establishment of open beam paths is necessitated. When used in conjunction with the ANSI Z136.1 Safe Use of Lasers, the Z136.6 ensures that your outdoor laser applications are in conformity with the latest safety guidelines.

This latest edition was created with the goal to update, clarify, and streamline an already established, recognized standard to better reflect today’s outdoor laser operator’s needs.

Some of the changes to the 2015 edition include:

  • Single column format and index for improved readability and searchability, and color added to figures for ease of use.
  • Added definition of “Control Measures” with explanation of preferred categories.
  • Complete rewrite of the Control Measures section to include the removal of most manufacturer-specific requirements, and the addition of an expanded and standalone military-specific section.
  • Metric unit standardization across the standard means no more pesky conversions.
  • New definitions and expanded content for visual interference zones around airports and general critical tasks.
  • FAA coordination requirements clarified.
  • Laser hazard classification revised to include a comparison table between 2000 & 2014 version of ANSI Z136.1 and better explain the purpose and types of hazard classification.
  • General section and formatting updates to better reflect today’s jargon.

Pre-order your copy today and be one of the first to own this long awaited revision of the ANSI Z136.6 standard. For more information, visit www.lia.org/store to see this and all the other ANSI Z136 laser safety standards.

About LIA

The Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the professional society for laser applications and safety serving the industrial, educational, medical, research and government communities throughout the world since 1968. www.lia.org, 13501 Ingenuity Drive, Ste 128, Orlando, FL 32826, +1.407.380.1553.