Shaping ultrafast Bessel-like beamlets for single-pass laser chamfering of glass.

Abstract

A methodology to micro-machine glass with a chamfered edge geometry using a single-pass ultrafast laser process is described. An input laser source is shaped into three spatially and temporally coordinated Bessel beamlets with controlled phases, each of which forms a single segment of a continuous C-chamfer shaped intensity profile. Beamlets are simultaneously deployed to induce damage (nanoperforation) extending through the thickness of a glass sample in a single laser shot. The methodology is experimentally demonstrated, generating controlled nanoperforation contours which produce C-chamfer shaped glass edges in a single laser cutting pass. Chamfered glass parts can be easily separated along nanoperforation contours via application of simple mechanical bend stress, with no need for additional post-process release steps, such as etching. This method has the potential to create laser-based chamfers for industrial glass processing applications with fast takt times, minimal waste, and low cost-to-throughput ratios.