Industrial Challenges and Opportunities in Adoption of Ultrashort Pulsed Laser Cutting of Transparent Materials

Project challenges

The shift toward miniaturized and high-performance glass components is outstripping the capabilities of traditional scribe and break techniques. Although these mechanical methods are cost effective at scale, they often compromise quality on complex designs.

Ultrashort pulsed (USP) lasers emerge as a leading technology in precision microfabrication. Their key advantage is highly controlled laser ablation with a minimal heat-affected zone. This 'cold machining' approach is particularly effective for transparent materials, where enhanced non-linear interaction ensures high-quality results essential for advanced manufacturing applications.

Despite the clear technical superiority of USP lasers over conventional methods, their industrial implementation is currently hindered by practical constraints. Most advanced laser systems operate at high repetition rates (MHz range), which can induce significant heat accumulation, enlarge the heat-affected zone, and lead to uncontrollable thermal micro-cracking. These thermal limitations directly reduce yield and productivity, posing key challenges for widespread industrial adoption.

MTC's solution

The MTC deployed a high-power ultrashort pulsed (USP) laser system to evaluate scalable glass cutting solutions for thicknesses ranging from 100 µm to 500 µm. The experimental architecture integrated a 250 W, 10 ps laser with a 10 m/s high-speed galvanometric scanner. By optimizing laser parameters, we achieved high-throughput processing at a 400 kHz repetition rate while effectively mitigating thermal damage to the substrate.

The study systematically investigated the impact of scan speed, frequency, average power, and focal positioning. Two distinct focusing strategies such as top-surface and bottom-surface alignment were rigorously evaluated using optical microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to measure material removal efficiency and the cut surface quality. This comprehensive analysis defines the process window for high-power USP laser cutting, demonstrating its readiness for high-precision, complex industrial applications. The demonstrated cutting process delivers high-precision, challenging surface cuts in borosilicate glass at 400 mm/s without thermal cracking or chipping. By ensuring a cleaner finish and a minimal heat affected zone, we provide the speed and quality essential for modern industrial applications.

The outcome

• Successfully demonstrated laser cutting of thin borosilicate glass sheets (thickness from 100-500 µm) with high-power ultrashort pulsed laser system.
• Achieved thermal crack free cutting for borosilicate glass.
• Demonstrated industrial relevance by cutting the glass sheets at 400 mm/s with 70 overscans and generating various shape cuts.
   

Benefits to industry

• Enhanced Manufacturing Efficiency: The scalable laser glass cutting process enables faster, cleaner, and more reliable cut surface with minimal heat affected zone. This reduces glass fabrication time, especially for high-precision challenging  shape cutting.
• Industrial Readiness and Versatility: By demonstrating the high speed and crack free cutting of thin glass sheets, the technology proves its suitability for demanding applications such as microfluidics, medical devices, and optical packaging, specifically providing through cuts. It opens new possibilities of cutting thin glass sheets with ps laser at high repetition rates. This will demonstrate the technology's flexibility and potential for real-world applications in electronics and specialized optics manufacturing.