Industriallasers20150102 DL

J A N U A RY / F E B R U A RY
2 0 1 5
W W W. I N D U S T R I A L - L A S E R S. C O M
Motion accuracy in
laser micro-sintering
Lasers counter
competition
Glass processing
Thin-flm ablation
Battery welding
Steel tube cutting
Annual Economic Review

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1/16/15 11:49 AM
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V O L
3 0
N O. 1
JA N UA RY \
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 15
Features
technology report
14
P.
Fiber lasers continue growth

streak in 2014 laser market
Revenues increase despite mixed global
manufacturing growth DAVID A . BELFORTE
14
33
A mobilized plan to counter laser

technology competition
application report
Femtosecond laser glass

processing
Ultrashort-pulse laser techniques enable
best precision SEYDI YAVAS
Enhancing laser thin-film

ablation
AND R ALF HELLMANN
technology report
The future role for lasers as a key

enabling technology in Europes industrial
renaissance GER ARD M. OCONNOR
technology report
Diffractive optical elements improve

efficiency and quality STEFAN RUNG,
CHRISTIAN BISCHOFF, ERWIN JGER ,
Motion in laser micro-sintering

applications
PATRICK WHEELER
23
28
technology report
Accuracy and repeatability are key for

product features measuring 30m or less
19
A complex 3D object
produced by selective
laser sintering.
application report
Battery welding: Selecting

laser, microTIG, and
resistance technologies
Consumer demand drives battery
production volumes GEOFF SHANNON
37
application report
Laser tube cutting for

agricultural machines
Cutting system streamlines
manufacturing process
ANTONIO VENDR AMINI
Departments
2
W W W. I N D U S T R I A L- L A S E R S . C O M
Update
Whats new with 100kW fiber lasers?

39 Calendar
DABbling
A blog by DAVID A. BELFORTE

David shares his insights and opinions on current
activities affecting industrial laser materials processing.
www.industrial-lasers.com/blogs/dabbling/index.html
1501ils_1 1
39 Ad Index
40 My View
Happy New Year
1/16/15 11:47 AM
update
Whats new with 100kW fber lasers?
ILS editorial advisor Dr. Kunihiko Washio, on a lab tour at the
NADEX Laser R & D Center (Tsuruga, Japan), witnessed the
following experiment with a 100kW fber laser welding SUS
304 stainless steel at 100kW (1mm-diameter spot size):
In air with N2 shield gas
Penetration depth of 40mm at welding speed of 2 m/min.
Penetration depth of 38mm at welding speed of 3 m/min.
In vacuum (0.1Pa)
Penetration depth of 100mm at 50kW
Penetration depth of 125mm at 70kW
I contacted Keiichi Suzuki, Corporate Offcer at the Center,
who contributed the news item that follows. DAB
NADEX Co., Ltd. (Aichi Prefecture, Japan) is an enterprise that
has been doing business with the automotive industry since
the 1950s, focusing on the manufacture and sales of resistance spot welding systems. This company has been developing new joining technologies as an industry/academia government project in cooperation with the Joining and Welding
Research Institute of Osaka University and Fukui Prefectural
Government. They established NADEX Laser R&D Center in
Fukui Prefecture, where the worlds largest IPG Photonics
100kW fber laser is installed.
IPG Photonics YLS-100000 oscillator is a multimode laser
oscillator that consists of 90 modules having a 0.3mm-diameter feeding fber connected to a 0.5mm-diameter process fber,
with output energy densities of 51MW/cm2 at the fber end.
In developing the output optics, it is important to enhance
the focusing stability and the stability of the convection in a
welding keyhole melting pool generated by the laser for which
the optimum threshold needs to be determined. Gas shielding of the protection window glasses also affects the stability
of the optic materials and application technology is indispensable. Because low heat input is a feature in 100kW laser processing, the weld bead is kept in a liquid form after melting by
trialing a gas-style nozzle suitable for the shape and material
of the work piece.
NADEX has been proposing various laser processing techniques, primarily to the automotive industry, through processing
trials with this laser in collaboration with customers. NADEX is
accumulating experiments at a higher speed and with a heavier
metal plate to expand the feld of application in cooperation
1501ils_2 2
Industrial Laser Solutions JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
NADEX Laser R&D Center has installed IPG Photonics

100kW fber oscillator for automotive laser processing tasks.
with partners in heavy industry.
Multi-layer arc welding, a time-consuming process, has
been dominant in the feld of heavy plate welding for shipbuilding and pressure vessel fabrication. NADEX intends to expand
its business in this feld by using technical innovation applying
laser welding, as well as building closer relations with existing
customers by feeding back solutions to the technical problems
encountered in the course of development.
Laser systems widely used today are rated around the 4kW
output range. In most cases, they are used for fusion joining
with high weld quality. In laser processing with the 100kW laser,
problems encountered in laser processing appear clearer,
which allows us to investigate the root cause and mechanism
of the problems in more detail. By making the best use of this
advantage, NADEX is trying to become a leading company in
the super-high-power laser process.
The company has been using the 100kW laser oscillator for
one and a half years, and they found that this laser has no big
difference with a 4kW laser oscillator in terms of ease of use.
The only differences seem to be higher expenditure for test
pieces, larger weld spatter deposition, and output optics that
are slightly bigger.
Those interested in joining NADEX in innovating new technologies with the 100kW laser system can contact keiichi.suzuki@
nadex-p-jp.
www.industrial-lasers.com
1/16/15 11:47 AM
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Fiber lasers continue

growth streak
in 2014 laser market
REVENUES INCREASE DESPITE MIXED
GLOBAL MANUFACTURING GROWTH
DAVID A. BELFORTE
he global marketplace for industrial

Two of the brighter lights, manufacturing in the US and
lasers and systems in 2014 was, to
the UK, were cause for celebration in these countries, as the
put the most positive spin on it, not
UKs economic strength was a surprise to all and US manthe most stable since the end of
ufacturers continued on an 18-month winning streak that
the Great Recession of 2008/2009.
depended on exports. The outlook for 2014-2015 was that
Over the five-year period, sales have
the US industrial markets key to growth in the laser sector
risen each year as economies in the
is improving moderatelyconstruction equipment, automodeveloped and newly developing industrialized nations have
tive, rail car production, commercial aerospace, and energy
risen. A slow start to 2014 was occasioned by a soft market in
are uphowever, the agricultural equipment market is facChinathe worlds largest industrial laser marketa country
ing a decline next year.
in a period of change, as domestic manufacturers of products
As 2014 came to a close, the general attitude among laser
were advised to shift their sights to the global markets served
and equipment suppliers was that 2014 business recovered
by companies with domestic intellectual property products.
just enough to meet projections for a turnaround in growth, as
A down market in China had immediate effects in Europe, a
order bookings for the 2015 backlog were barely being met.
major exporter of laser products, which contributed to almostrecessionary problems in Europe.
The global market for industrial lasers
Russia was anticipated to lead the non-aligned industrialIrrespective of a mixed global manufacturing growth in 2014,
ized nations (the Brazil, Russia, India, and China [BRIC] region)
industrial lasers, led by booming fiber laser sales, experienced
in 2014 sales, but returned to a bully-on-the-block posture
a moderate 6-percent increase over 2013 revenues. In TABLE 1,
that turned the rest of the worlds majors against it with ecototal revenues for 2013 have been adjusted to reflect final calnomic sanctions, and the other BRIC nations did not deliver:
endar-year results reported by leading suppliers that were pubBrazil, still sorting out political unrest, was negative; India
lished early in 2014.
started a third-quarter turnaround led by
auto sales, but too little too late; and Chinas Table 1. Industrial laser revenues (US$M).
manufacturing purchasing managers index
LASER
2013
2014
%
2015
%
(PMI) went below the magic 50-percent level
863
884
2
877
-1
CARBON DIOXIDE
in November. A sudden downward shift in
456
444
-3
431
-3
SOLID-STATE
Germany (a global industrial laser export
841
960
14
1085
13
FIBER
market leader) caused manufacturing to
327
343
5
366
7
OTHER
decline precipitously in the last monthsstill
positive, but not enough to boost European
2487
2631
6
2759
5
TOTAL
Union (EU) financials.
Sources: Strategies Unlimited/Industrial Laser Solutions
1501ils_5 5
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 Industrial Laser Solutions
1/16/15 11:47 AM
t e c h n o l o g y
r e p o r t
Industrial lasers integrated into prolasers used in both deep- and extreme-UV
of CO2, solid-state, and fiber lasers, and
cessing systems, from simple marking
photolithography. In this sector, Strategies
Amada, an integrator of their own fiber
systems to complex, multi-axis remote
Unlimited reports revenues of $908 million,
and CO2 lasers for cutting, can offer
welding systems, are employed in a
a 15-percent increase over 2013, and they
their customers a choice of laser source.
wide variety of manufacturing operations
project an 18-percent increase for 2015.
Otherssuch as Bystronic, Mazak,
where laser technology allows users to
Some international market reports include
Mitsubishi, Prima Power, and Ermaksan,
improve in productivity and profitabilthis application in their reports for lasers for
to name a fewalso can offer laser cutity. These systems have gained accepindustrial materials processing.
ters powered with either laser technology
tance in key industries that were the drivIn 2014, marking continued to repreat a range of output power levels.
ing force for manufacturing recovery from
sent about 13 percent of all industrial
Our estimates for 2015 revenue growth
the depths of the 2008/2009 global receslasers sold, while Micro Materials using
are predicated on the anticipated mudsion: energy, transportation, agricultural
all types of lasers held a 23-percent
dled global economic situation. This is best
machinery, aerospace, communications,
share and Macro Materials processing
exemplified by a quote made at the close
medical devices, and fabricated
of the contentious November 2014 G-20
metal products. And these indus- Table 2. All Industrial laser material
summit in Australia by the Prime Minister
processing revenues.
tries are projected to continue to
of the UK: red warning lights are flashing
REVENUE (US$M)
2013
2014
2015
grow and expand in global marfor the world economy.
kets through the second decade
MARKING
$335.0
$347.5
$370.8
of the millennium. In short, indusMarking/engraving remain solid
y-to-y
4%
7%
trial laser technology is aligned with
The marking/engraving market, as seen in
MICRO MATERIALS
$597.0
$611.3
$631.5
growing markets. Since the recesTABLE 3, has long been the foundation for
y-to-y
2%
3%
sion, the compound annual growth
growth in the Low-power Laser category.
MACRO MATERIALS $1,554.4 $1,671.6 $1,755.6
rate (CAGR) for industrial lasers has
Tracing the history of industrial lasers from
y-to-y
8%
5%
been 12.18 percent.
1970, there have been only two significant
In 2014, industrial laser revenues
market reversals: 1993 and 2008-2009,
TOTAL
$2,486.4 $2,630.4 $2,757.9
grew by 6 percentprimarily as a
in which marking/engraving revenues
y-to-y
6%
5%
result of 14-percent growth in the
declined.
The negative revenue growth in
Sources: Strategies Unlimited
fiber laser sector, which since the
2014 for sealed-off CO2 lasers for
recession has shown a CAGR of
Table 3. Lasers used for marking/engraving. engraving operations and solid33.58 percent. The fiber laser share of the
state lasers for marking applicaREVENUE (US$M)
2013
2014
2015
total 2014 industrial laser market was 36.5
tions is not indicative of the active
CO2
$47.5
$45.9
$44.1
percent, up 8 percent from 2013, while the
market for these lasers; it only
y-to-y
-3%
-4%
rest of the market grew only 2 percent.
reflects the current selling price
Carbon dioxide (CO2) revenues mancompetition situation common in
SOLID STATE
$72.3
$70.1
$71.8
aged to grow 2 percent even though they
Asia, the largest market for these
y-to-y
-3%
2%
lost market share to high-power fiber
lasers. This commodity-like marFIBER
$201.0
$215.3
$237.4
lasers, which penetrated into the metal
ket is very much quantity-driven,
y-to-y
7%
10%
cutting sector by more than 30 percent.
as the cost of low-power fiber
DIODE
$14.2
$16.2
$17.5
And solid-state lasers, losing market
and CO2 lasers makes profit mary-to-y
14%
8%
share to low-power fiber lasers for markgins difficult to sustain. However,
TOTAL
$335.0
$347.5
$370.8
ing, dropped 3 percent; only the increased
unit sales continued to increase
revenues from high-power disk lasers and
at a modest single-digit rate in
y-to-y
4%
7%
ultrafast-pulse (UFP) lasers for microma2014 and will increase slightly
chining kept the losses lower. In the Other
more in 2015.
category, high-power direct-diode and
excimer lasers (growing in niche markets)
dominated with a 63-percent share
Microprocessing takes off
showed a 5-percent revenue growth.
typically due to the high selling price of
Its a given that a significant portion of the
TABLE 2 shows industrial laser revenues
the lasers used. Overall revenue growth
industrial laser market is fragmented into a
by material processing applications. ILS
of 6 percent in 2014 was supported by
multitude of niche markets. As an example,
uses categories established by our partincreased sales of high-power lasers (8
microprocessing lasers are used to manuner Strategies Unlimited, where Micro
percent) for metalworking, mostly for cutfacture metal and bioasorbable stents and
Materials includes all applications proting and welding. In both of these applifilters for medical and biological applicacessing by <1kW of laser power and Macro
cations, competition between CO2 and
tions, and they also find use in the fabricaMaterials covers applications at 1kW and
fiber lasers is intense. Some systems intetion of microfluidic components, glass PCB
higher. ILS does not report revenues for
grators such as Trumpf, a self-integrator
substrates, lab-on-a-chip, and displays for
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r e p o r t
phones and tablets. UFP lasers process

higher-power laser direct-metal deposimaterials such as Teflon and Nylon that
tion for producing parts in a broader sector
longer-pulse solid-state lasers cannot
called Additive Manufacturing, produced a
a situation that frustrates analysts trying
34-percent increase in revenues and elicto come to grips with this vibrant industry.
ited such promising opportunities for 2015
ILS has chosen to group laser processing
that this sector is expected to grow by 62
on a micro-scale (TABLE 4) into four broad
percent in 2015.
categories: Semiconductor/PC Board, Fine
Laser applications involved with proMetal Processing, Additive Manufacturing,
cessing solar cells and the components for
and Other, which are served by all laser
solar cell farms, as government subsidies
types producing output power <1kW. This
acted to boost consumer demand, contriballows for summation of available suputed to a 12-percent growth in the ubiquiporting data on laser usage from these
tous Other category. Lasers have proven
niche industries.
their worth in roles spanning the solar cell/
Sorted into three large sections along
module manufacturing chain: trimming and
with the miscellaneous group under the coldicing silicon wafers instead of sawing,
lective title Microprocessing,
TABLE 4 shows the impact of Table 4. Lasers used for microprocessing (<1kW).
a slowdown in equipment
REVENUE (US$M)
2013
2014
2015
orders from the semiconSEMI/PC BOARD/DISPLAY
$17.9
$18.7
$23.5
ductor industry, a typical
y-to-y
4%
26%
downer in that notoriously
cyclical industry sector.
FINE METAL PROCESSING
$82.7
$92.3
$100.2
This, coupled with uncery-to-y
12%
9%
tainty in regions where
ADDITIVE
$11.3
$18.3
$23.6
fine metal processing is a
MANUFACTURING
major industry, led to a low
y-to-y
61%
30%
2-percent gain in 2014 revSOLAR/OTHER
$15.3
$15.6
$16.9
enues. But on the more posy-to-y
3%
8%
itive side, seemingly insaTOTAL
$127.2
$144.9
$164.2
tiable commercial interest
y-to-y
14%
13%
in 3D Printing, leading to
industrial acceptance of
Methodology
The methodology uses a bottom-up, demand-based process for each segment
followed by a top-down approach; then, the numbers are compared to
previous forecasts.
The information, other than the forecasts, comes from both public sources and
private briefngs held with those in the industrial laser business. Information gained
from briefngs typically isnt sourced, and the author of this report ultimately remains
responsible for its content.
We gathered information from a wide variety of sources, including:
Interviews with end users, product vendors, component and module suppliers,
suppliers of subcomponents, and independent industry experts;
Press releases, sales literature, flings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) and other government agencies, and other public information;
Statistics gathered by trade associations and research frms that follow specifc markets,
with our own interpretation as necessary; and
Information gathered from PennWell resourcesStrategies Unlimited, Laser Focus
World, the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar, and Industrial Laser Solutions.
1501ils_8 8
1/16/15 11:47 AM
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t e c h n o l o g y
replacing high-temperature diffusion furnaces for doping solar cells, scribing cell
surfaces, detecting defects in solar cells,
and characterizing and testing solar cell
properties. To the extent that lasers can
continue to demonstrate competitive or
superior performance quality or cost (or
both) than other established processes
and technologies, especially as newer solar
cell structures and platforms are embraced,
this leads experts to see their use continue
to grow in this sector.
And for the first time in recent years,
shipments of CO2 laser systems for via drilling decreased and in some cases halted
as the PC board industry slowed in 2014.
New technology boosts
microprocessing
The numbers for solid-state lasers in

TABLE 5 indicate the impact of a new
wave of fiber laser products aimed at the
growing microprocessing market. These
fiber lasers, operating at the fundamental
and shifted wavelengths, compete with
r e p o r t
Table 5. Lasers by type used for

microprocessing.
REVENUE (US$M)
SOLID STATE
2013
2014
2015
$183.9
$184.0
$176.8
0%
-4%
$144.9
$164.2
14%
13%
y-to-y
FIBER
$127.2
femtosecond lasers, and another

half-dozen companies offering fiber
lasers in the Picosecond category.
High powerwhere
the action is
At 63 percent of industrial laser

market revenues and outperformCO2
$119.4
$124.1
$132.6
ing in growth, high-power lasers
y-to-y
4%
7%
for macro-processing are the main
attraction because their high sellEXCIMER/OTHER
$166.6
$158.3
$157.9
ing price noticeably moves the mary-to-y
-5%
0%
ket numbers. Because most of the
TOTAL
$597.0
$611.3
$631.5
applications are in metal processing
y-to-y
2%
3%
in extremely visible industries such
as aerospace, transportation, and
fabricated metal products (installaequivalent solid-state lasers in terms of
tions for cutting and welding of high-speed
process capability, while offering the
trains in China; aircraft components in the
operating cost advantages of power effiUS; automotive parts in Europe, China,
ciency and low maintenance. The most
and the US; and shipbuilding in Europe), it
fertile market sector, UFP microprocessseems that these lasers always garner the
ing, is currently dominated by solid-state
highest interest.
laser products supplied by more than
Seventy-five percent of the 2014
two dozen companies offering pico- and
macro-processing revenues reported in
y-to-y
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1/16/15 11:48 AM
t e c h n o l o g y
TABLE 6 resulted from laser cutting of met-
als, mostly sheet metal cutting. In the

grander view, this sector alone represents
almost 50 percent of all industrial laser revenues, so it substantiates the claim that
high-power lasers are where the action is
at least from a revenue standpoint. It may
come as surprise to some, but laser welding revenues grew 10 percent in 2014, raising this sector to almost 14 percent of all
industrial laser sales.
In the Other category are high-power
lasers used for industrial applications
such as surface treatment and drilling,
the latter enjoying a renaissance as drilling demands from turbine engine businesses spikeda result of increases in
multi-year jet engine orders for passenger aircraft offsetting a lowering of orders
from the defense sector as the US began
Table 6. Lasers used for
(1kW or higher).
REVENUE (US$M)
2013
METAL CUTTING
$1,170.5
y-to-y
METAL WELDING
$334.2
y-to-y
OTHER
$49.7
y-to-y
TOTAL
$1,554.4
y-to-y
12
1501ils_12 12
r e p o r t
to wind down military spending.

Glancing ahead, expectations
are that a third year of modest,
spotty global economic growth
looks to slow down capital spending again, especially for metal cutting and welding in China, the largest market for high-power lasers.
As a consequence, 2015 is shaping up as a modest growth year
(5 percent) for the high-power
macro-processing sector.
Fiber vs. the others:
Table 7. Lasers used for macroprocessing

(1kW or higher).
REVENUE (US$M)
CO2
2014
2015
$696.1
$714.2
$699.9
3%
-2%
$599.5
$683.4
17%
14%
$189.5
$181.9
-5%
-4%
$168.4
$190.3
15%
13%
y-to-y
FIBER
$512.4
y-to-y
SOLID STATE
$199.5
y-to-y
DIRECT DIODE/OTHER
$146.5
y-to-y
TOTAL
$1,554.4 $1,671.6 $1,755.6

y-to-y
war won?
8%
5%
In the two previous industrial laser

categories, growth was for the
most part driven by the further penetration
of fiber lasers into markets served by other
laser types. The best case for this is in the
high-power macro-processing secmacroprocessing
tor, where kilowatt fiber lasers have
successfully made inroads into
2014
2015
markets previously held by high$1,248.7 $1,293.8
power CO2 lasers. An example of
7%
4%
this is the sheet metal cutting market, where a multi-thousand-unit,
$366.1
$389.7
kilowatt-level CO2 laser business
10%
6%
has had fiber lasers penetrate by
$56.8
$72.0
more than 30 percent, with projec14%
27%
tions for more than 50-percent pen$1,671.6 $1,755.6
etration by 2016.
8%
5%
An estimated 6000 high-power
lasers integrated into cutting
2013
systems were sold in 2014, of which CO2

lasers powered the majoritya situation
that, according to fiber laser proponents,
may be the nadir for these lasers in metals manufacturing applications. TABLE 7
shows a 3-percent increase in CO2 revenues vs. a 17-percent increase in fiber
laser revenue; most of the fibers growth
is at the expense of CO2 lasers. In 2014,
CO2 lasers held a 43-percent share of
total revenues vs. fibers at 36 percent. In
2015, this split is expected to be essentially equal, with CO2 at 40 percent and
fibers at 39 percent. At the biennial
EuroBLECH show in October 2014, 49
industrial laser systems were on display43 were fiber laser-powered and
1/16/15 11:48 AM
t e c h n o l o g y
six used CO2 lasers. Just over six years

ago at this same show, the split was CO2
at 23 units and fiber at 4 units.
Solid-state lasers, even with the revenue strength of UFP lasers and the significant contribution of the Trumpf high-power
disk laser, lost revenue in 2014 because
of the growth of fiber lasers in their key
application sectors. Solid-state lasers continue to hold a small share of the marking
market for deep engraving, but even in this
sector, pricing pressures are driving down
revenue growth.
The future
World economic conditions for 2015, as

predicted by most economists, are not
the most encouraging. The International
Monetary Fund reduced its 2015 global
growth forecast to 3.2 percent after projections three years ago that it would rise to
4.8 percent. There are just too many question marksChina, Central Europe, Russia,
the Middle East, Brazil, and Japanto
bravely predict the market prospects for
r e p o r t
2015. Many industrial laser product suppliers are taking a wait-and-see attitude,
seeking shelter behind terms like modest and spotty when they report to investors, analysts, and journalists. ILSs survey
of dozens of suppliers of industrial lasers,
laser systems, and related products produced a consensus that 2015 will likely
be a repeat of 2014, with overall revenue
growth of 5 percent. Behind this number
are anticipated declines in high-power CO2
lasers for sheet metal cutting and continuing declines in high-power solid-state laser
usage, for example, in the aborted application of cutting sapphire cover plates for
smartphones.
On the other hand, there are other revenue contributions that continue to add
to overall market revenue growth. Fiber
lasers are expected to attain double-digit
growth at 13 percent and high-power diode
lasers for applications in the auto industry
will gain over 2014 numbers.
In an aside, fiber, high-power diode, and
excimer laser sales together will surpass,
for the first time, combined sales of CO2

and solid-state lasers.
This report opened with two presumptions. First, industrial lasers now satisfy
demand from the global manufacturing
market; therefore, they are sensitive to
world economic pattern changes. Second,
industrial lasers are now an integral part
of global machine tool sales and, like
machine tools, are responsive to international economic changes. Monitoring
trends in machine tool revenues is now a
useful tool for predicting global industrial
laser sales.
Industrial laser revenues have, except for
two international economic financial downturns, had a 45-year run that has seen a
CAGR of 17.43 percent, according to ILS
collected data. And according to industry perspectives shared with us, future
near-term markets, in the strong industries that comprise the current industrial
marketplace, seem assured to support
high single-digit growth for the next several years.
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1501ils_13 13

13
1/16/15 11:48 AM
t e c h n o l o g y
r e p o r t
Motion in laser micro- s

ACCURACY AND REPEATABILITY
ARE KEY FOR PRODUCT FEATURES
MEASURING 30M OR LESS
PATRICK WHEELER
elective laser sintering (SLS) is a

broad topic with many different
implementations. In the most general sense, it is the act of selectively
turning a powdered material into a
solid structure without first turning
that powder into a liquid. In practice, the phase transition from powdered solid to liquid mass
to solid mass does happen, but very quickly, because of the
speed with which an industrial laser allows for the application
and dissipation of large concentrations of thermal energy. To
leverage this technology for the purpose of manufacturing, a
system must be able to accurately deliver both the metal powder and the laser power to the same locations over a threedimensional (3D) structure. Positioning the powder and the
laser require high motion accuracy as feature sizes continue
to decrease to make more precise products (FIGURE 1).
As product features move toward a limit of 30m or less,
all of the elements of a SLS system are critical to allow those
features to be realized in an accurate and repeatable fashion.
For example, there are two main types of powder metal delivery used in SLS. The first is a powder bed that continues to
roll more powder material over a part that is being processed.
The second is a nozzle head with powder sprays and the laser
delivery head mounted together and synchronized for the sintering process. For either one of these processes to produce
laser sintering on the micro level, the powder must be sized
to accomplish this, the laser spot size must be small enough
to create a small-enough heat-affected zone, and the motion
system must be accurate and repeatable enough to be in the
right location for each and every sintering event. For the purpose of this article, we will discuss the considerations one
should make in creating a motion system capable of providing just that type of motion for micro-selective laser sintering.
Good motion system design begins with the end in mind,
meaning that the types of moves required must be known.
14
1501ils_14 14
FIGURE 1. A
complex 3D
object produced
by selective laser
sintering.
What acceleration, velocity, accuracy,

repeatability, and tracking error are
required? For this stage of the evaluation, the mechanical solution, whether
gantry, XY galvo scanning head, simple
stacked-stage solution, or any combination, need not yet be considered, as
the move specifications will provide guidance into the optimal
mechanics. Lets imagine that this micro-selective laser sintering process requires single-digit micron accuracy at the work
point. Lets also imagine that this is a powder-bed application,
not a powder-nozzle application. This will help limit the scope
of our discussion.
Machine base assembly
We will start from the bottom up, beginning with the machinebase assembly. The first consideration is to design a machine
base that is adequately stiff, heavy, and capable of rejecting
ground disturbances that can cause small oscillations at the
work point (FIGURE 2).
Considerations include proper leveling feet, a stiff metal
structure, and a proper type of isolation system between
the machine base and the base plate. For some precision
applications, it may be necessary to characterize the ground
vibrations for the location at which the machine will ultimately
reside. Knowing this gives a machine designer insight into
which frequencies of oscillation their machine must ultimately
reject. This, however, is not often required, although sometimes machine builders give recommendations for ideal ground
floor characteristics. Most often, machine builders will design
a system for the most common situation. Isolation systems
1/16/15 11:48 AM
- sintering applications
vary in complexity, from simple passive dampening material, passive air isolation, active air isolation, or isolation through some custom system employing another fluid. Whatever the choice may be,
the consideration here is the rejection of unwanted frequencies.
System mechanics
Once a preliminary base design is completed, the next design decision is the type of mechanics for the actual motion system. For this
example, imagine a 300 300 150mm XYZ motion envelope over
a powder bed with a special powder addition and leveling system
below. The work envelope requires three dimensions of motion
and must span the powder bed. The system design will consist of
linear stages in all three directions (X, Y, and Z) and will be a traditional gantry configuration (FIGURE 3)meaning dual axes carrying
a single bridge axis. It is important to note that a controller can only
position a stage to be within some accuracy specification limited
by the encoders resolution, the mechanical resolution of the bearings, and the location of the encoder with respect to the work point.
The first limitation, the encoder resolution, is typically overcome by
using well-tuned sine wave encoder feedback. A good controller
FIGURE 2. Granite is the

will have the ability to tune the sine
and cosine signals by applying off- performance leader for
sets and scaling factors to the typ- SLS base plates due to its
superior flatnesshaving
ical 1Vpp signals. This corrected
a
flatter base increases
signal will be sampled and interthe
performance of a
polated by the controller well into
motion
system.
the nanometer level. The choice of
bearings for the gantry stages will
limit the ability for that very fine electrical resolution to be realized
the less friction in the bearings, the closer to the electrical resolution that a motion system can approach. For this reason, many
high-accuracy machine builders consider air bearings. However,
1501ils_15 15
air bearings will not work in a vacuum environment, can be subject to contamination by the powder, and do not have the same
stiffness as mechanical bearing solutions. Finally, the location of
the encoder relative to the work point is important due to angular
errors (pitch, roll, and yaw) of any linear stage. The further the work
point is from the bearing and encoder system, the more greatly
exaggerated these angular errors will be.
Fortunately, there are ways that high-end motion providers can
get around some of these errors. For example, for the gantry system under discussion, parallel gantry base axes or spars on
either side of the powder bed carry a single gantry bridge (also linear motor-driven) over the top of the powder bed. These parallel
base axes may not be perfectly orthogonal to the bridge axis, but
the right controller choice can force orthogonality by applying an
offset to one of the base axes or spars. This assists in minimizing
angular errors at the work point. Additionally, each encoder must be
calibrated such that the highest level of accuracy is achieved at the
work point. This calibration procedure involves placing reflective
optics mounted to the XYZ motion system at the laser work point.
A laser interferometer is used as the master position reference as
the axis being calibrated is moved along its travel. Calibrating an
optical linear encoder with laser interferometer feedback at the
work point will increase performance in two ways. First, it corrects
for the magnitude of error along the axis being calibrated due to
angular error motion of that axis, which is magnified by the distance
between the encoder and the work point. It should be noted that
the angular element of that error vector is not corrected. However,
with symmetric Gaussian or top-hat laser spots, the angular aspect
of this error is not an important consideration. Second, it increases
the raw linear accuracy imparted by the stage at the work point.
Moving to multiple positions along the travel of the stage tracks
the differences between the native encoder and the more precise
interferometer feedback. The difference in measurements between
the two devices is used to generate a calibration file. A controller
will use this calibration file to ensure that a commanded motion of,
for instance, 10 mm will be as close as possible to 10 mm at the
work point, not necessarily at the encoder.
Now that the precise, calibrated XYZ motion system has been
designed for use over the powder bed, it is decided that the velocity requirements to meet the process throughput goals cannot be
accomplished with the linear motor drive-train of the XY gantry.
The scanning speed needs to be a few meters per second, so XY
galvo scanning heads are chosen as the proper tool for fast beam
steering. The only issue is that the galvo scanning head has a field
of view of 100 100mm while the part is 250 250mm in XY size.
Also, the accuracy of the scanning head is 50m, and that is after
a theoretical f-theta lens correction file is applied.
There are several ways to address the limited field of view of
15
1/16/15 11:48 AM
t e c h n o l o g y
galvo scanning heads. The first is to implement a step-and-scan

technique. This technique means that the very high-speed moves
are made with the galvo scanning head, followed by indexing steps
with the servo axes. During scanning, the servo axes hold the galvo
scanning head in position. Using this method, process moves that
are longer than the galvo field-of-view (FOV) are stitched together
at the edges of each FOV. Also, one must consider that the scanning mirrors move the laser beam towards the extents of an f-theta
lens, spot size distortion occurs, and higher levels of positioning
error also occur. For this reason, it is desirable to find an industrial
controller that can blend servo and galvo motion together, which
has two advantages. The first is eliminating any stitching errors.
The second is maintaining quick processing times while limiting
the FOV of the galvo scanning axes to the more accurate and less
distorted central region of the lens. Slower servo moves under a
galvo scanning head constantly re-center the part, which allows
for this desirable behavior.
Now, it is time to review the mechanical design. At this time, the
system includes a machine base with proper leveling feet and isolation, an XYZ gantry motion system with an XY scanning head,
and some of the process requirements have helped in narrowing
our controller choices. It is time to determine the base plate material and finally revisit the machine base design. All parts of a system must work together, so it is important not to forget that the
machine base and the motion equipment must work seamlessly.
LASER MICROMACHINING
PhotoMachining, Inc.
performs precision laser
micromachining on a
variety of different
materials including
plastics, metals, glass,
ceramics, etc. Our
eleven different types
of lasers allow us wide
fexibility to address
many applications.
We also design and
manufacture custom
laser machine tools.
r e p o r t
The base plate
Base-plate material can significantly affect machine performance.

Typically, the choices are steel, aluminum, and granite. Often, granite is the performance leader due to its superior flatnesshaving a
flatter base increases the performance of a motion system because
flatness errors are transferred to the stages that are mounted to the
base (FIGURE 3). This is due to base plates typically being designed
to be less stiff than the equipment which they carry. Negative points
about granite are the cost, difficulty to work with by requiring special inserts vs. drilling and tapping holes, and having a different
coefficient of thermal expansion than the mechanics mounted to it.
Ultimately, this decision will be performance-based, but can also
come down to costs and availability. For example, if procuring a
thick aluminum plate with very tight machined surface specifications at a low price is possible, granite might be avoided. Revisiting
the machine base design ensures that the proper support structure exists for the motion system on top.
Controller evaluation
Now, its time to evaluate motion controllers. Realizing all controller features required to operate this mechanical system has narrowed our choices. Some key considerations include: What type
of controller can manage five axes of coordinated motion? Can
the controller continuously process a large part and, if so, how
difficult is that part to program? How will the controller interface
Compact and easy to integrate
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PhotoMachining, Inc.
Contact sales@photomachining.com
Tel: 603-882-9944
Web site: www.photomachining.com
16
1501ils_16 16
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Lachine, QC, H8T 3J7, Canada
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1/16/15 11:48 AM
t e c h n o l o g y
FIGURE 3. A gantrystyle motion system

that incorporates an
XY galvo scanner.
with the industrial laser? Can the laser be

pulsed based upon distance and/or constant velocity? How will the pulse width be
controlled? How will the controls required
for machine functionality interface with
those required for processing? Correctly
answering these questions with the right controller will determine
whether or not the machine will operate as envisioned. For this reason, it is important not only to understand the interaction of the
powder material with the laser, but also to understand how that
interaction will manifest in 3D space.
The 1st of its kind
r e p o r t
In light of that, coordinating galvo scanner motion and servo

motion together for the purpose of eliminating stitching, maximizing throughput, and processing in the center of the f-theta lens are
all the goals. The laser spot size and pulse must be consistent, and
distortion will be hard to tolerate. Stepping and scanning has the
undesirable impact of starting and stopping what should be continuous process moves. Also, using a galvo scan head allows for
some unique features such as quickly oscillating the laser (wobble) to create thicker part paths. The very high acceleration of
the galvo scan head allows for more effective cornering operations, which is helpful when parts have many changes in direction.
If these changes in direction exist, timing laser pulses based upon
constant velocity will be very difficult. A controller that can track
distance traveled and fire pulses based upon vector distance may
be helpful in implementing this process. The goal is to maintain a
consistent structure in this micro-selective laser sintering process.
A final look at the galvo scan head and f-theta lens combination reveals that the accuracy is 30m over the central 25
25mm region of the lens, even after a theoretical correction table
is applied. The motion is very repeatable, just not accurate enough.
Is there a way to calibrate this region to achieve more accurate
results, based upon real-world measurements? The accuracy of
the galvo scan head/f-theta lens system is in addition to the servo
system that carries it, so the less error, the better. How can the
galvo scanner be calibrated not only for
continued on page 21
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1501ils_17 17
1/16/15 11:48 AM
1501ils_18 18
1/16/15 11:48 AM
t e c h n o l o g y
r e p o r t
A mobilized plan to counter

laser technology
competition
Conductive inkjet
THE FUTURE ROLE FOR LASERS AS

Nano-spray
Laser
structure
Laser Laser
cure print
A KEY ENABLING TECHNOLOGY IN

EUROPES INDUSTRIAL RENAISSANCE
Clean
Laser
etch
Laser
drilling Clean
Clean
Laser
cut
GERARD M. OCONNOR
Unwind
n November 2012, I had occasion to spend

a month living and operating from a factory
in Shenzhen, China. The experience was transformativecoming from a medium-sized and competitive academic institution (NUI Galway) integrated
with a thriving manufacturing hub in the West of
Ireland. My visit to China caused to me to reflect on
the innovative power of mega-cities and the threat of emerging manufacturing ecosystems. I was suddenly challenged by
how Europe, with its shrinking urban centers, complex social
model, and aging population, could compete in the future. At
the very least, I wanted to understand how Europe was planning to push back against the competitive forces originating
from Asia so that teaching and research activities could be
optimally positioned for future regional impact.
I embarked on this reflection from a frame of reference,
which revolves around laser-based manufacturing. Anyone
who is familiar with Galway will know that laser technology is
an integral part of the medical device industry located in Ireland.
Hundreds of laser sources are used routinely throughout the
medical device manufacturing value chain to heat-treat, weld,
cut, drill, mark, and characterize the very many diverse materials and assemblies that comprise a modern medical device.
This critical mass of local end users of photonics technologies
is complemented by other geographical regions in Europe that
are highly adept in the development and production of laser
components and systems. Europe is well known to have a
world-leading position in the market of photonics for industrial
production. This position is driven by key geographical regions
of strength located throughout Germany, France, Lithuania,
and the United Kingdom, to mention a few. In recent years, the
1501ils_19 19
Direction
FIGURE 1. Representative
laser process steps
envisaged for a versatile,
multilayer roll-to-roll
(R2R) manufacturing pilot
line. Next-generation R2R
manufacturing exploits
key enabling technologies
(KETs) in photonics,
advanced materials,
nanotechnology, microand nano-electronics, and
advanced manufacturing.
Rewind
European Technology Platform

Photonics21has made significant strides to advance the
photonics agenda in Europe
by working closely with the
European Commission.
The European Union (EU)
has been very supportive and
receptive to the recommendations from this photonics platform. The economic crisis in
Europe has triggered a re-evaluation of the importance of its
manufacturing industry. The European Commission is seeking to increase gross domestic product (GDP) associated with
manufacturing industry from 16 to 20 percent in the six-year
period up to 2020. This is a formidable and perhaps unrealistic challenge, but it is leading to a significant innovation in how
the member states will operate in Europe.
Key enabling technologies
Perhaps of most relevance to the laser community is the concept of key enabling technologies (KETs). KETs are recognized
by the EU to be the building blocks for future product and process solutions that address many challenges facing European
society. There are six KETs identified for Europes Innovation
Union: photonics, advanced materials, industrial biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, nanotechnology, and micro-/
nano-electronics. Europe has aligned its biggest-ever research
19
1/16/15 11:48 AM
t e c h n o l o g y
program, Horizon 2020, of nearly 80 billion ($98 million) over seven

years, to advance these key technologies while also addressing its
response to grand societal challenges.
The provision of funding has been particularly targeted to support developments where multiple KETs are applied together to
enable new productive platforms. The strategy is intended to make
better use of the enabling character of KETs in versatile and sustainable manufacturing pilot lines. It is intended that value chains
encompassing highly innovative small- to medium-size enterprises
will assemble around such forward-looking pilot lines.
There are significant opportunities for laser technology; pilot lines
can realize the potential for laser technology to make, monitor, and
measure in the production of future sustainable multi-functional
devices. For example, such integrated devices will regularly use
patterned nanotech/biotech-inspired thin films deposited on flexible polymer/glass substrates, forming subcomponents that can
continuously harvest and store energy. They apply this energy to
drive smart functionsincluding colored illumination, data display,
interactive (touch) sensors, and other bio/physical sensorswhile
at the same time connect to the Internet of Things through a micro-/
millimeter-sized antenna. The integrated
convergence of these technologies
presents challenges for multiple KETs.
Health care
It requires new materials and advanced
Optics/photonics
processing tools. Polymer electronics,
Security/safety
nanostructures, biofilms, and thin, flexible glasses provide the basic building
blocks for such processes. Roll-to-roll
(R2R) manufacturing platforms, where
lightweight, smooth, flexible substrates
with good barrier and thermal properties can support both additive and subtractive process steps, are likely to form
the backbone of such productive platforms (FIGURE 1).
r e p o r t
regions of research and innovation intensity. The research and innovation strategies for smart specialization (RIS3) are hosted by the
European Commission on a dedicated website (http://s3platform.
jrc.ec.europa.eu). Of particular use is an Eye@RIS3 tool or map. At
the time of writing, Eye@RIS3 is a pilot project in its infancy stage;
however, it is proposed to be a searchable online database that
identifies activities for the EU region or member state into which
significant future regional resources will be invested.
Photonics clusters
In terms of laser technology, the origin and development of geographical clusters in photonics throughout Europe are based on
localized existing strengths. Thanks to the interactions between
research laboratories, SMEs, and large corporations in these clusters, local cooperation makes possible the transfer of photonics
technologies to industrial products and services. In Europe, there
are approximately 27 or so active clusters centered on photonics
(FIGURE 2). The best practices within these clusters were reported
recently by a European project (www.fp7-aspice.eu). Best practice here is interpreted as a method or technique that consistently showed results superior to those
achieved by other means.
The photonics clusters throughout
Europe showed different characteristics depending on either the number of members, scope of technologies, or focused application markets.
Thus, the extension from local cooperation to a European one allows photonic stakeholders to develop partnerships and invest in a broader scope of
technologies. Regional and national
clusters activated in photonics along
the European landscape attempted to
bridge or fill gaps existing within the
value chains of relevant services or
Smart specialization
products. The weakest clusters tended
In addition to the research and innovato be those which were emerging and
tion priorities discussed above, Europe
most inwardly focused by means
has also re-positioned its regional polof market and geographical figures.
icies to more cohesively contribute to
Clusters that fostered a sense of rivalry
the economic development of the membetween participants, and had a wellber states and their regions. In effect,
established supply chain, appeared to
Europe is seeking to align its regional
be more competitive with better prosFIGURE 2. A map of healthcare, optics/photonics,
budget to better serve as an input to
pects in the photonics market. All phoand security clusters identified by the ASPICE
its advanced research and training pro- project in Europe. (Source: www.fp7-aspice.org)
tonic clusters examined were found to
grams. Through an inspired move, the
have a limited drive for internationalEU has requested each region to pubization; this is considered to negatively
lish their evolving research and innovation priorities. In turn, these
impact the growth potential of such constituent SMEs.
policies are reviewed by critical friends from across Europe. The
The growth of internationalization activities within a cluster is
smart specialization strategies that emerge are expected to be
recognized to be a key aspect to a clusters evolution and sustaindeveloped from the ground up, in the full knowledge of what other
ability. The European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP), also
EU regions propose.
supported by the EU, provides many useful tools in assisting clusThe purpose of this smart specialization is to assist regional
ter-to-cluster collaborations. The platform provides quality online
stakeholders to develop highly competitive and complementary
information and networking support for cluster organizations. The
20
1501ils_20 20
1/16/15 11:48 AM
t e c h n o l o g y
r e p o r t
objective is to improve cluster perforcase, the organization needs to find one or

mance and thereby enhance the comseveral partners who will transfer technology
petitiveness of their constituent SMEs.
or know-how needed to solve a problem. In
An example of this tool is presented in
the third case, partners are seeking to identhe www.clustercollaboration.eu webtify potential research partners for participasite. A map and profile of the different
tion in European Horizon 2020 research projclusters throughout Europe are proects. Optimal use of the Enterprise Europe
vided; contacts for the different clusters
Network requires engagement with EEN specan be obtained selecting the table tab
cialists; the network is supported by 3000+
and the hyperlink to the cluster of internetwork advisors and specialists. The aspiest. This website is particularly imporration to develop a single resource, informed
tant as photonics is a KET, and has an
and supported by specialists, spanning many
important role to play in the support of
different technologies is a significant develbroader inter-disciplinary cooperation
opment for Europe.
with clusters in other fields, such as
healthcare, energy, ICT, etc.
Summary
One final EU tool deserves a mention.
So, on completion of my reflection of
It is important to know the value chain at
Europes competitiveness, it seems that
the outset of any proposed development
Europe is doing what it can to mobilize the
or collaboration. In the case of photoninstruments it has to push back against the
ics, this can be a particular challenge
forces
of competition. It seems it hopes to
FIGURE 3. Colored areas represent the
given the proliferation of SMEs along
rival
other
global regions through the aggresregions or member states that have formally
the value chain. While cluster databases
sive
development
and deployment of KETs
prioritized KETs. (Source: EyeRIS3 tool,
described above can be useful, a more
(
FIGURE
3
);
the
laser
technology is integrally
European Commission)
direct facility for establishing technolinvolved. It is also directing these resources
ogy and business partners are often
towards addressing the threat of substitutes
needed. The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) provides an interand new entrants by the development of pilot lines. It has signifnational portal (een.ec.europa.eu) for business and technology
icantly aligned its resources by providing more cohesion to the
searches. European research performing organizations can find
forces that pertain to the supply side of economic development.
themselves in the position of writing a profile in three casesif they
The final piece relying on the power of the buyer for the moment
are offering a technology, if they are requesting a technology, or if
still appears to be firmly towards Asia.
they wish to promote an R&D request. In the first case, the orgaDR. GERARD OCONNOR (gerard.oconnor@nuigalway.ie) is with the School of
nization develops a technology offer and wishes to make it availPhysics, National Center for Laser Applications, NUI Galway, Ireland; www.ncla.ie.
able to end users to carry out a technology transfer. In the second
t e c h n o l o g y
r e p o r t
MOTION IN LASER MICRO- SINTERING APPLICATIONS continued from page 17
the highest level of accuracy, but also to be aligned with the servo
axes that carry it? There are still a lot of questions.
Summary
Moving from rapid prototyping and conceptual designs manufactured by SLS and into the 30m and below micro-selective laser
sintering processes requires a new set of considerations. Many of
these considerations are straightforward. Smaller powder particles
to make smaller features are needed. Smaller laser spot sizes to
make smaller features are required. The ability to control the pulsing of the laser to control energy input is another requirement. In
concept, these requirements are easy to understand.
In contrast, the motion system proposed in this article has a
total of five moving axes, each contributing its own unique errors.
Although many items were discussed, many more were not
1501ils_21 21
addressed. These include managing the leveling of powder beds

between layers; managing the consistency of powder beds, as
powder material behaves differently as particle size decreases;
using a nozzle-style powder distribution technique; maintaining
normalcy with a nozzle-style delivery; and the ability to program
a part profile in three dimensions and to execute the profile with
five moving axesthe list goes on. For this reason, it is important to consider your motion system requirements so that the process manifests itself properly at each event in 3D space. As these
motion requirements become more technical, it is important to realize which of those tasks can remain in-house, and which require a
partner that can guide you in the right decisions .
PATRICK WHEELER (pwheeler@aerotech.com) is senior applications engineer with
Aerotech, Pittsburgh, PA.
21
1/16/15 11:48 AM
V I S I T U S AT P H O T O N I C S W E S T, 10 -12 F E B R UA RY 2 0 15 , B O O T H 2 3 2 3
1501ils_22 22
1/16/15 11:48 AM
a p p l i c a t i o n
r e p o r t
Femtosecond
laser glass
processing
ULTRASHORT-PULSE LASER TECHNIQUES
ENABLE BEST PRECISION
SEYDI YAVAS
With nanosecond laser

With femtosecond laser
lass is a transparent and solidlike material with
diverse areas of
application in our
daily lives. It is a
boundless material whose applications diversity is growing,
finding more uses in combination with other
50m
50m
materials for high-tech applications. Glass is
made from easy-to-find materials such as soda
ash, limestone, and sand. These materials melt
10m
20m
at very high temperatures (around 1500C) so
that it behaves like liquid and can be poured,
blown, pressed, and molded into a multitude
of forms. However, at ambient temperature, it
acts like a solid and becomes harder to process after cooling due to changes in mechanical properties.
Glass has unique capabilities that no other
materials have. It has fascinating optical properties such as reflecting, bending, transmitting,
FIGURE 1. Laser processing examples on glass with a nanosecond UV laser
and absorbing light, and has high bandgap for
(left
side) and with a NIR femtosecond laser (right side) [8].
transparency over the entire visible range and
beyond. Chemically, it is corrosion-resistant
and inert so that it can be used as a container
for most chemicals. Thermally and electrically, it is an excelvarious methods, it even gained elasticity. However, these
lent insulator. Mechanically, a glass surface is hard so that it
same properties render processing of glass challengingfor
is scratch- and abrasion-resistant, and in recent years with
example, while glass has great tensile strength, it is brittle.
1501ils_23 23
23
1/16/15 11:48 AM
Consequently, the history of methods to treat glass is as rich as

the history of its applications. Glass producing has an ancient tradition that dates back to around 3500 BC. It is assumed to have
been first artificially manufactured in Mesopotamia and Egypt
to be used as jewelry and afterward as jugs. Since then, processes have continuously evolved from workmanship to todays
high-tech industrial methods, and numerous glass types and
uses have emerged. Even though the manufacturing of glass has
a long history, in the last few decades, processes made using
FIGURE 2. Femtosecond pulses generated via fiber laser enable

fast marking on glass.
r e p o r t
Today, laser-based techniques

offer the most precise ways
of processing glass. The most
straightforward approach relies
on the use of single-photon
absorption in wavelength
ranges where glass is not highly
transparenteither in the infrared
(IR) or ultraviolet (UV).
producing sub-picosecond pulses in near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. In this approach, ultrashort pulses are focused tightly into
the bulk of glass or its surface, with power densities exceeding terawatts per square centimeter that trigger exotic processes such as
simultaneous absorption of multiple photons and avalanche and
impact ionization, resulting in a highly localized disruption of the
glass matrix with very little energy deposited (a few microjoules or
less). Due to the very modest amounts of energy used per pulse,
the thermal effects to the regioneven immediately surrounding
the focal volumecan be kept negligible. This approach is often
called cold ablation and enables creation of extremely precise
3D structures.
Femtosecond laser micromachining of transparent materials
has distinctive advantages over other micromachining techniques
(FIGURE 2). First, laser-induced modifications are limited to the focal
volume due to nonlinearity in absorption mechanism. Using scanning methods or sample translation micromachining, geometrically
difficult structures in three dimensions becomes possible. Second,
the material-independent nonlinear absorption process makes it
possible to form fine structures like optical devices in transparent
materials (FIGURE 3).
already-produced glass have been limited due to its brittleness.

Breaking and disintegrating of glass commonly begins with
a small crack. After the crack forms in some part of the body, it
travels and reaches the edge and causes it to break. This brittle
nature of glass makes it hard to process. On the other hand, developing technology necessitates smaller structures to be formed in
different types of glasses for many application areas. There are
conventional precise methods like photolithography and electron beam lithography that can also process glass, but both of
these techniques are expensive and hard to operate, especially
on large areas. Today, laser-based techniques offer the most precise ways of processing glass. The most straightforward approach
relies on the use of single-photon absorption in wavelength ranges
where glass is not highly transparenteither in the infrared (IR)
or ultraviolet (UV).
However, direct absorption leads to
problems, including undesirable thermal
c) Hot electron-ion d) Permanent
b) Nonlinear
a) High laser intensity
plasma transfers
material change
absorption of
in focal volume
effects and formation of heat-affected
energy to lattice
laser energy
zones, which can severely compromise
Low energy
mechanical stability by seeding microField ionization
crack propagation. Furthermore, pro~100fs
~1J
Result: isotropic n
cessing substantially below the surface,
800nm
Mechanism: melting
towards the creation of 3D structures,
Intermediate energy
NA~0.5
requires use of wavelengths of high transparency. While nanosecond-pulsed lasers
Avalanche
Transparent sample
can be used to create sub-surface strucResult: birefringent n
Mechanism: nanograting
tures in glass (FIGURE 1), the physical mechanisms involved also impose limitations to
High energy
Energy
the finesse of the micromachining and can
also cause micro-cracks.
Time
Result: empty void
In recent years, an exciting alternative
Mechanism: Micro-explosion
has become practical enough for industrial
usagenamely, the use of ultrafast lasers
FIGURE 3. A schematic showing femtosecond laser/transparent material interaction [1].
24
1501ils_24 24
1/16/15 11:48 AM
Femtosecond laser micromachining

arises from a phenomenon called laserinduced optical breakdown. In this process, the optical energy of the femtosecond laser is transferred to the processed
material, exciting many electrons and
causing them to ionize and transfer energy
to the lattice. Subsequently, a structural
or phase alteration in the material occurs
and causes a permanent refractive index
modification or even leaving a void just
at the focal spot.
Understanding why ultrafast pulses are
ideal for micromachining necessitates
approaching the problem from the timescale of the material processing point of
view. Damage caused by a laser has long
been studied, but there are important differences between damage caused by a
femtosecond pulsed laser and damage
caused by pulses with duration greater
than picoseconds. In most of the materials, phonons that are the main reasons
of thermal effects need at least one picosecond of laser exposure to be excited. For
femtosecond laser pulses, exposure duration is lower than this limit.
Hence, any ions will not be excited thermally by electrons since the femtosecond
r e p o r t
nonlinear excitation allows the use of femtosecond laser micromachining for practical purposes for which other methods are
not capable.
Until recently, use of ultrashort pulses
on glass was a known but not widely used
method since the pulse energy need for this
process is relatively high. The only lasers
that were providing these pulse energy levels were solid-state lasers that are complex, difficult to operate, and expensive
to purchase. Improvements in fiber laser
technology over the last few years provide pulse energy levels with short pulses
and high beam quality that make them an
important alternative to solid-state lasers.
In addition, fiber lasers are more economical, compact, reliable, and easier to operate since they are alignment-free.
The development of user-friendly, lowcost, microjoule-range ultrafast fiber
lasers is now transforming this technique from a niche application to a
widely adopted industrial processing tool
(FIGURE 4). Applications range from product authentication to glass cutting, as

well as the creation of sub-surface optical waveguides.
Applications
Surface texturing and roughening using

ultrashort pulses is a widely used method
for metals since control over the process
and precision provides amazing results,
enabling applications such as biomedical
implant roughening to increase cell adhesion and thin-film etching for LEDs and
solar cell efficiency increments. Common
methods like sand blasting and chemical
etching for texturing on glass surfaces provides moderate-level precision and limited control over the pattern obtained,
often causing micro-cracks that reduce
the durability of the processed glass. As
a result, fiber lasers find usage in surface
texturing of glass, especially for applications like producing hydrophobic/hydrophilic glass surfaces. Recently, treatments
FIGURE 4. An example of glass cutting

made by a femtosecond fiber laser.
pulses would end before this time period.
Heat diffusion outsideeven in the vicinityof the focal area is minimal, resulting in an increase of the precision of the
process. In addition, femtosecond laser
material processing is highly deterministic since the seed electrons to seed the
absorption process are generated through
nonlinear ionization mechanism and defect
electrons in the material are not required.
The repeatability and confinement of the
1501ils_25 25
25
1/16/15 11:48 AM
Glass layer 1
r e p o r t
Weld
Glass layer 2
50m
FIGURE 5. Laser bonding of two glasses using femtosecond pulses [5].

using ultrashort-pulsed lasers show it is
possible to get the same or even betterquality wettability conditions on glass surfaces, and they are highly promising for the
future of surface treatment applications.
They provide total control over the process
pattern on the surface, making it possible
to optimize liquid-glass interaction.
Another promising application for ultrashort-pulsed fiber lasers is the welding of
glasses. The most widely used method
to stick two glasses together is to glue
them using chemicals. The biggest drawback of this method is that most of the
chemicals used release some gases
over time, causing the power of the bond
between glasses to reduce due to gas
in between. Another method used is to
polish the glass surfaces, bringing them
together and then treating with heat afterward. This method also has shortcomings,
especially if two different types of glasses

are used. Since they may have different
heat-expansion coefficients, the bond
between the glasses could become weak
after heat treatment. Recently, high-repetition-rate (megahertz) and high-pulseenergy (microjoule), ultrashort-pulsed
lasers have begun to be used for welding
of glasses. When the ultrashort pulses are
focused at the interface of two glasses
to be welded together, very small volumes from each glass melt and cool
down together, resulting in a very powerful bond. With correct optimization of
ultrashort laser welding processes, it is
possible to obtain bonds as strong as the
glasses themselves (FIGURE 5).
Another important application in the
optics and photonics industry, possible only with ultrashort-pulse lasers, is
writing waveguides inside glass to guide
light in 3D. When ultrashort pulses are

focused inside glass, a refractive index
change occurs at the focal volume and
this change is generally in the way of
an increase in the index. By scanning
the glass using a translation stage, this
increased-index region can be used to
form paths. Similar to the optical fibers
working principle, light can be guided
through these paths by using the total
internal reflection mechanism. Using this
method it is possible to guide and transfer
light in three dimensions from one place
to another, combining or separating different wavelengths of light, making grating or lens structures inside glass, etc.
Thus, ultrashort laser waveguide writing inside glass (FIGURE 6) is important
since it is expected that photonics technology is going to dominate communication, biomedical, and sensor technology
that is mainly provided by electronics technology.
Conclusion
Femtosecond laser micromachining offers

distinctive capabilities for 3D, materialindependent, and subwavelength-precise
processing, and also enables the fabrication of 3D structures in transparent materials such as glass with far greater simplicity than lithography. The femtosecond
micromachining field is evolving at a rapid
pace and this technique promises possibilities beyond the field of micromachining. It is a technology that creates new
fields and markets for the laser industry
and facilitates state-of-the-art applications
that will affect the future of technology in
many ways.
REFERENCES
1. K. Itoh, W. Watanabe, S. Nolte, and C. B. Schaffer, MRS

Bulletin, 31, 620625 (2006).
2. R. R. Gattass and E. Mazur, Nature Photon., 2, 219225
(2008).
3. M. S. Ahsan, F. Dewanda, M. S. Lee, H. Sekita, and T.
Sumiyoshi, Appl. Surf. Sci., 265, 784789 (2013).
4. G. Della Valle, R. Osellame, and P. Laporta, J. Opt. A: Pure
Appl. Opt., 11, 013001 (2008).
5. S. Richter, S. Dring, A. Tnnermann, and S. Nolte, Appl.
Phys. A: Mater. Sci. Process., 103, 257261 (2011).
6. See http://bit.ly/1nvrlCb.
7. See http://bit.ly/1yCV85F.
8. See http://bit.ly/1pOodcv.
FIGURE 6. A schematic showing direct laser writing of a waveguide inside glass [6].
26
1501ils_26 26
SEYDI YAVA (yavas@fiberlast.com.tr) is Senior

R&D Engineer - Laser Expert at FiberLAST Inc.,
Ankara, Turkey.
1/16/15 11:48 AM
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Youll nd
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22nd International Trade Fair and Congress for Optical Technologies
Components, Systems and Applications
www.world-of-photonics.com
1501ils_27 27
1/16/15 11:48 AM
r e p o r t
t e c h n o l o g y
Enhancing laser thin-film a

DIFFRACTIVE OPTICAL ELEMENTS
a)
Superfuous energy
IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND QUALITY
Intensity
(a.u.)
Gauss
STEFAN RUNG, CHRISTIAN BISCHOFF,
Ablation threshold
Heating energy
ERWIN JGER, AND RALF HELLMANN
Spot diameter
hin-film laser ablation of transparent

conductive oxides is commonly performed with Q-switched lasers with
nanosecond pulses. With the rising availability of suitable ultrashortpulse laser systems, manufacturers
face the decision of investing in new
laser systems to achieve higher process quality and throughput.
By applying diffractive optical elementslike beam shapers
and beamsplittersand existing utilities based on nanosecond laser-built manufacturing systems, improvements in thinfilm ablation performance towards higher process quality and
efficiency can be achieved.
To highlight the advantage of laser beam shaping, indiumdoped tin oxide (ITO) is processed with a Nd:YVO4 diodepumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) using different diffractive
top-hat beam shapers and a fourfold beamsplitter. The generated top-hat laser beam profile allows scribing continuous
lines with a small pulse to pulse overlap; i.e., with an exceptionally high scribing speed. The beamsplitter is used for parallel processingthat is, increasing throughput and a sustainable usage of the provided laser energy.
Thin-film laser processing
Laser processing has become an indispensable manufacturing technique in thin film technology. Especially in thin-film
solar cell processing, the laser-based structuring of individually deposited functional layers is typically performed using
DPSSLs with a Gaussian beam profile, different wavelengths,
and pulse lengths in the nanosecond regime. The respective
laser scribing processes are generally referred to as P1 (structuring the transparent conductive oxide layer), P2 (patterning
the semiconductor absorbing layer), and P3 (patterning the
contact layer).
In particular, the P1 scribe of transparent conductive oxides
(TCOs) can also be found in the production of display devices,
touchscreens, and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Laser
28
1501ils_28 28
Top-hat
Spot diameter
b)
HAZ
c)
Damage
FIGURE 1. Different ablation behaviors of thin films for

Gaussian (left column) and top-hat (right column) laser beam
profiles: a cross-section of laser beam profiles (a), an ablated
line with circular and rectangular laser footprint (b), and a
schematic cross-section of a processed material system (c).
scribing, as opposed to traditional methods such as mechanical needle scratching or wet chemical etching, is associated
with a minimum of mechanical stress to the thin layer and
circumvents an objectionable chemical treatment. Although
ultrashort-pulsed laser systems have been proven in scientific
studies to yield superior process quality and high throughput,
the state-of-the-art industrial laser ablation systems for thinfilm scribing are still Q-switched DPSSLs with nanosecond
pulses. To further advance their performance, beam-shaping
optics can be easily implemented into existing manufacturing
systems to optimize the beam profile and multiply the output
beam for parallel processing purposes.
Top-hat profile for enhanced film ablation
The main drawback with using lasers having a Gaussian beam

profile is to manage the energy deposited into the material.
FIGURE 1 illustrates the principle of the ablation behavior of
thin films. Complete ablation is achieved only in an area where
the laser intensity exceeds the ablation threshold. Any energy
above this threshold may damage the underlying substrate
material. The energy in the wings of the Gaussian profile is
below the ablation threshold and leads to an undesired heating
of the surrounding material, which in turn can lead to a structural damage. According to Keming Du, up to 36.8 percent
1/16/15 11:48 AM
ablation
of the energy within a Gaussian beam is effectively used for
the ablation of thin layers [1]. As shown in FIGURE 1a, a top-hat
beam profile can significantly improve this energy match to the
ablation threshold, by means of which both the excess energy
above the threshold and the excess energy in the wings can
be reduced. As a result, potential damage to the substrate
beneath the laser scribe and the adjacent area can be avoided.
A further advantage of using a beam shaper to generate a
top-hat profile is the possibility to change the laser footprint
from a circular type to a square or a rectangular one. Typically,
structuring with a pulsed laser having a circular footprint leads
to a sawtooth-type pattern along the ablated line, which can
induce unwanted mechanical stress in the thin film. To avoid
this, it is necessary to use a high pulse overlap of at least 70
percent when working with a circular Gaussian beam profile
[2]. In contrast, a rectangular footprint can produce straight
walls with a very small overlap, thus increasing the processing speed of the laser micromachining [3-5].
2mm
FIGURE 2. A measured top-hat profile generated by a

refractive Gauss to Top Hat (GTH) beam shaper in combination
with a fiber-coupled IPG laser at 980nm. Beam quality of the
laser source: M2 < 19; numerical aperture (NA) = 0.005.
than the unshaped, diffraction-limited TEM00 spot. The following two formulas give an estimate of the top-hat focal size in
the zero and first orders of FBS elements. In addition, FBS elements provide very high efficiency (>95 percent) and lead to
Different top-hat beam profiles for diverse tasks
In the following section, valuable rules of practice are summarized for using refractive and diffractive beam-shaping optics
for top-hat profiles. The spot size of an unshaped beam profile
in the focal plane is determined by the wavelength, the numerical aperture (NA) of the focusing optics, and the input beam
quality. A redistribution of this intensity profile into a homogeneous top-hat beam profile can fundamentally only be realized
by a widening of this spot size. The magnitude of this spatial
expansion depends on the particular physical approach of
beam shaping, with the homogenization of the beam profile
being possible in one or two dimensions.
DPSSLs used for thin-film processing typically exhibit diffraction-limited, single-mode Gaussian beam profiles (TEM00) in the
focal plane. As a rule of thumb, with refractive beam shapers,
the minimum top-hat size (at 1/e2-limit) is at least 4X bigger than
an unshaped, diffraction-limited TEM00 spot. Besides this limitation of minimum feature size, refractive beam shapers allow
generating top-hat profiles in the range of up to a centimeter
and can work also with multimode lasers (FIGURE 2). However,
in thin-film laser ablation, a large spot size will remove more
material and thereby decrease the active area of the device.
Alternatively, top-hat sizes close to the diffraction limit can be
generated by using diffractive beam-shaping elements. Each
focus beam shaper (FBS) allows the generation of two different top-hat profiles in the working plane. The so-called zeroorder top hat is just 1.5X bigger than an unshaped, diffractionlimited TEM00 spot, whereas the first-order top hat is 3X bigger
1501ils_29 29
Top-Hat SizeZero Order
M
NA *
Top-Hat SizeZero Order
2 *
M
NA *
a high homogeneity (2.5 percent) within the generated tophat profile. Typical tolerances for variation of input beam size
and lateral misalignment are approximately 10 percent of the
used beam diameter. The input beam quality should be better than M 2 = 1.5.
FIGURE 3 illustrates the footprint geometry of the zero-order
top hat of two different top-hat FBSs, denoted as FBS-1 and
FBS-2. These two diffractive optical elements differ in their spatial modulation, which in turn leads to different intensity distributions of the diffracted optical field. In particular, FBS-1 generates a top-hat beam profile in the focus with a square-type
footprint, yet with rounded corners. The conversion efficiency
of FBS-1 is about 95 percent. In contrast, FBS-2 generates
a top-hat beam profile with the sharp edges of the squaretype footprint. However, the conversion efficiency of FBS-2 is
slightly reduced to about 90 percent.
The zero-order top hat of FBS-2 also shows a very high
depth of working area around the focal plane (depth of focus).
Both the intensity distribution and the size (@1/e-level) of
the profile are rather stable within this area, which leads to
an almost constant power density. The length of the zeroorder top-hat working area is approximately 60 percent of
29
1/16/15 11:48 AM
t e c h n o l o g y
r e p o r t
used. FIGURE 4a shows a laser-scribed line using a

zero-order top hat of FBS-1. As outlined above, the
application of a top-hat beam profile facilitates a significant reduction of the spot overlap down to about
10 percent. However, the slightly rounded corners
of the beam profile using FBS-1 are still noticeable.
A laser-scribed line using the zero-order top hat of
FBS-2 with the same ablation spot overlap is shown
in FIGURE 4b. The improved intensity distribution
FIGURE 3. Virtual Lab simulation results of different top-hat beam profiles in
enables laser scribing of straight lines without sawthe working plane using different beam shapers: zero-order top hat of FBS-1 (a),
tooth-shaped edges.
zero-order top hat of FBS-2 (b), and first-order top hat of FBS-1 (c).
Finally, slightly changing the optical setup allows
the Rayleigh length of a Gaussian-type beam profile. Within this
the generation of a first-order top-hat beam profile
zero-order top-hat working area, the peak intensity of the top-hat
with the FBS-1. By employing this higher order, it is possible to
beam drops by only about 15 percent, as compared to a Gaussian
work with a homogenous laser beam profile with sharp edges in
beam that would drop by about 30 percent over this length scale
the case of FBS-1, yet with a larger spot diameter. FIGURE 4c depicts
(over the entire Rayleigh length, the peak intensity of the Gaussian
a laser-scribed line with a laser spot overlap of 10 percent, simibeam drops by 50 percent). This reduced variation of the FBS-2
lar to FIGURE 4a. Contrary to the results shown in FIGURE 4a, FBS-1
zero-order top-hat peak intensity permits more stable thin-film
also allows the removal of straight lines when using the firstablation processes.
order top hat.
The different laser beam profiles of FBSs can be used to remove
These results highlight that the application of a homogenous laser
thin films with very high scribing speed. FIGURE 4 compares the thinbeam profile decisively improves the laser ablation of thin films.
film ablation of a 150nm ITO with a 1064nm Nd:YVO4 DPSSL at a
Using diffractive optical elements like the FBS-1 and FBS-2 leads
repetition rate of 10kHz. For applications that require a diffractionto straight scribing lines and significantly accelerates the scriblimited spot size, the zero-order top hat of FBS-1 or FBS-2 can be
ing speed, when compared to the use of a Gaussian beam profile.
a)
b)
c)
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1501ils_30 30
Multiplying throughput with

diffractive beam shapers
Ablation of thin films generally requires only a small portion of the

pulse energy of a standard industrial DPSSL. For the experimental
results shown in this article, an indusa)
trial-type DPSSL by Ekspla with pulse
energy of 750J was used (Baltic
series). The applied pulse energy for
the thin-film ablation, however, is only
about 15J. If a spatial repetitive pattern has to be scribed, it is possible
to introduce diffractive beamsplitters
40m
into the beam path. Diffractive beamb)
splitters create accurate copies of the
original beam to simultaneously process the material at different positions.
In addition, such beamsplitters can be
combined with other beam-shaping
optics. This improves the energy efficiency of the laser process and multi40m
plies the throughput of the laser scribc)
ing. Binary diffractive beamsplitters
can provide an efficiency of almost 90
FIGURE 4. Results of laser scribing

using different top-hat beam profiles:
zero-order top hat of FBS-1 (a), zeroorder top hat of FBS-2 (b), and firstorder top hat of FBS-1 (c).
40m
1/16/15 11:48 AM
t e c h n o l o g y
a)
b)
1mm
r e p o r t
Burr volume [m3]

Line width [m]
Roughness Rz (Rt) [nm]
80
70
60
50
40
50m
50m
50m
50m
30
20
solid-state lasers can significantly be improved

in terms of both process efficiency and quality.
With the valuable advantage of being applicable to existing systems, end users can improve
the performance of their utilities by retrofitting
such optical elements without being urged to
invest in new laser systems.
REFERENCES
1. K. Du, Thin layer ablation with lasers of different beam profiles Line
Energy efficiency and over filling factor, Proc. SPIE, 7202 (2009).
2. O. Homburg, F. Vlkermeyer, F. Toennissen, H. Ganser, and T.
Mitra, High-precision Gaussian-to-tophat beam transformation
FIGURE 5. Combination of a first-order top hat of FBS-1 and a fourfold beamsplitter
improves structure quality and speed in micro-machining, Proc.
for line scribing of a 150nm ITO: a microscope picture with detail views of every line
LIM, 754762 (2007).
3. B. Baird, T. Gerke, K Wieland, and N. Paudel, P2 and P3 spatially
(a) and measurement values of the burr volume (ROI: 100 100m2), line width, and
shaped laser scribing of CdTe and a-Si thin film solar cells using a
roughness Rz (Rt) for each line (b).
532 nm picosecond MOFPA, Proc. 26th European Photovoltaic Solar
Energy Conference, 2471 (2011).
percent and homogeneity between the sub-beams >2.5 percent.
4. S. Rung, M. Rexhepi, C. Bischoff, and R. Hellmann,Laserscribing of thin films using top-hat
FIGURE 5 highlights the results of laser scribing a 150nm ITO layer by
laser beam profiles, J. Laser Micro. Nanoeng., 309 (2013).
5. S. Rung, C. Bischoff, E. Jger, U. Umhofer, and R. Hellmann, Laser thin-film ablation with
using a combination of a fourfold beamsplitter and the first-order
multiple beams and tailored beam profiles, Proc. SPIE, 8967 (LAMOM), 2389 (2014).
top hat of FBS-1. The four lines have comparable values for the
generated burr volume, line width, and the bottom roughness Rz.
Conclusion
By using diffractive optical elements such as beam shapers and

beamsplitters, thin-film laser ablation by nanosecond pulsed
STEFAN RUNG is with the Fraunhofer Application Center for Resource Efficiency,
Aschaffenburg, Germany; CHRISTIAN BISCHOFF and ERWIN JGER are with TOPAG
Lasertechnik GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany; and RALF HELLMANN (ralf.hellmann@hab.de) is with the University of Applied Sciences Aschaffenburg, Aschaffenburg,
Germany.
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31
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1/16/15 11:48 AM
r e p o r t
Battery welding:
Selecting laser,
microTIG, and resistance
technologies
CONSUMER DEMAND DRIVES BATTERY PRODUCTION VOLUMES
GEOFF SHANNON
atteries and battery packs are an

battery joining applications, detailing when and where to use
integral part of everyday life due to
each technology.
ever-increasing demand for portable electronic devices, cordless
Welding for battery manufacturing
power tools, energy storage, and
Laser welding was introduced in the manufacturing markethybrid and electric cars. This, in
place in the mid-1980s and awareness of its benefits has
turn, drives the need to manufacled to it becoming an established process as another tool in
ture batteries and battery packs that meet the quality and prothe manufacturing engineers toolbox to be used and impleduction requirements for these products.
mented as needed.
There are a number of materials joining requirements
for battery manufacturing, depending on the specific
type, size, and capacity of the battery. Key examples
include internal terminal connections, battery can and
fill plug sealing, tab-to-terminal connections, and external electrical connections.
Several joining options can be considered for these
requirements, including laser, resistance, ultrasonic, and
micro-tungsten inert gas (microTIG). The decision to use
one or the other is generally dictated by the specific type
of weld required and production requirements.
Ultrasonic welding is commonly used for the joining of
the internal electrode battery materials, which are usually
constructed of thin foils of aluminum and copper. The
remaining joining requirementsincluding the connections inside the can and external terminal tab connectionsare well suited to resistance, microTIG, and laser
welding. For can and plug applications (seam sealing),
laser welding is the joining technology of choice.
The following is an overview of laser, resistance, and
FIGURE 1. Laser seam welding of an aluminum can.
microTIG welding technologies, along with examples of
1501ils_33 33
33
1/16/15 11:48 AM
r e p o r t
The laser provides a high-intensity light source that can be

variety of terminal materials. Due to a different welding mechafocused down to very small diameters (0.01 in.). The concentranism, laser welding is able to weld both thin and thick tab matetion of light energy is sufficient to melt metals rapidly, forming an
rials, with a capability of welding copper or aluminum tab mateinstantaneous weld nugget. The process is non-contact, has no
rial above and beyond 0.04 in. thick. Avoiding penetration of the
consumables, and offers instantaneous welding once positioned at
can and overheating the battery are important aspects of tab-tothe weld point location, provides sufficient control over the process
terminal welding.
to size the weld nugget according to requirements, and provides
Welding tabs or terminal connections to buss bars generally
a number of implementation methods that can be geared toward
does not require as much penetration of heat input control as the
individual manufacturing requirements. Laser welding enables jointab-to-terminal welds. The materials, material thickness, and coming of many materials and material combinations, can weld thick
bination of materials determine the best welding technique.
parts, and has no limitation on proximity of weld spots.
There are two types of lasers that provide
solutions for battery applications: pulsed
Nd:YAG and fiber. Both of these lasers offer
different joining characteristics that can be
selected as appropriate.
Resistance welding has been used in the
battery industry for almost 40 years and a
steady stream of advances has given users
significantly improved capabilities to control
various aspects of the process. For example, the introduction of DC inverter power
supplies with basic closed-loop electrical
modes provides the ability to accommodate
FIGURE 2. Examples of laser welding conductive tabs.
changes in the secondary circuit to specifically address part resistance. Also, polarity
switching for capacitance discharge supplies enables balancing
Laser welding
of the weld nuggets and, more recently, the addition of displaceFor tab and buss bar joining, laser welding offers a high degree of
ment and electrode force measurement, providing manufacturers
flexibility, welding thin and thick tab materials; copper, aluminum,
with more tools to ensure weld quality.
steel, and nickel; and dissimilar material combinations. Two examSimilar to resistance welding, TIGalso known as gas tungple welds are shown in FIGURE 2.
sten arc weldinghas traditionally been used for the more chalWhen welding a tab to a terminal, the general rule of thumb is
lenging welding applications in nonferrous materials. Advances in
that the tab should be thinner than the can terminal thickness.
high-frequency power supplies increased low current control and
As the can thickness decreases, the tab usually must be 50 perarc stability, enabling much finer welding. This process became
cent of the can thickness for a safe processing window that proknown as microTIG, a generally non-contact process that offers
vides weld strength and conductivity without penetrating the can.
excellent copper joining while offering a fairly relaxed process winAs laser welding has no limitation on the proximity of the
dow, with respect to part fit-up and positioning tolerances of the
welds, the laser can place any pattern of weld spots on the tab
electrode to the parts.
according to strength requirements. It is worth noting that, in
nearly all cases, if the joints weld strength is achieved, conHigh-speed seam and plug sealing of battery cans
ductivity follows. For more conductive materials, the weld area
Laser welding is an excellent method for seam sealing, resulting in
required for strength can be as much as 10 times that required
high-speed, high-quality seams in both steel and aluminum. Laser
for conduction.
welding offers significant advantages over mechanical clinching
As shown in FIGURE 3, the placement of the weld spots on
and adhesive methods based on joint reliability, joining speed,
the tab is completely flexible, and can be tuned to the strength
and ease of manufacturing. As laser welding is an extremely effirequirements of the pack or tab. For example, peel strength is
cient joining process, the heat input into the battery is minimized.
often used as a metric for weld quality. Therefore, the welds
FIGURE 1 shows an example of seam welding of an aluminum can.
can be positioned accordingly. The peel strength of the lefthand image is 15 lbs., while the center image is 60 lbs. The time
Welding tabs to terminals and buss bars
needed to add additional weld spots is very short; sufficient tab
From a welding perspective, the important aspects of tab weldstrength can be achieved with very little impact on cycle time.
ing are the thickness and material of both the tab and the terAlthough peel strength remains an important weld test, vibraminal. Resistance welding is extremely well suited to welding
tion is also important. As vibration strength places an emphanickel tab material up to 0.015 in. thick, and nickel- or steel-clad
sis on having good weld strength in any direction, the circle of
copper tab material to around 0.012 in. in thickness to a wide
weld spots shown in the right-hand image provides the solution.
34
1501ils_34 34
1/16/15 11:48 AM
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r e p o r t
FIGURE 3. Laser reads laser weld placement for tailoring weld strength and weld.
Resistance welding
Resistance is the most cost-effective method for joining tabs on

a wide range of battery types and sizes, using both DC inverter
closed-loop and capacitor discharge power supplies. With fast
rise times, closed-loop feedback control, polarity switching, and
options for displacement and force sensing, the process can be
finely tuned and monitored to ensure both high quality and yield.
For nickel tab thicknesses up to 0.0070 in., the tab can be
welded without modification. Beyond this thickness and to prevent electrical shunting and excessive electrode wear, a slot and
projections are placed in the tab as part of the stamping process. The projections act not only as energy concentrators for
the weld, but also greatly increase electrode lifetimes. FIGURE 4
shows several examples of the wide range of resistance tab
welding applications.
FIGURE 5. The effect of microTIG on weld porosity before pulsation

(left) and after (right).
and lap welds are possible in copper measuring 0.02 in. thick and
beyond. When welding copper using microTIG, it is extremely
important to use a pulsation function that creates the weld without porosity (FIGURE 5).
Battery pack manufacturing systems
The two main production options available are continuous flow

in-line or offline systems. It should be noted that the manufacturing flow can have an impact on the welding technology selected
and this should be factored in at the technology selection stage.
A consideration of materials, joint geometry, weld access, cycle
time, and budget will normally point in the direction of the required
joining technology.
Production volume driven by consumer demand
FIGURE 4. Examples of resistance tab welding applications.
MicroTIG
MicroTIG offers excellent welding of copper and presents a good

solution for buss bar welding that would require a brazing material for resistance welding or a large-power laser welder. Butt, fillet,
36
1501ils_36 36
The production volume of batteries continues to be driven by the

demands of consumer electronics and electric vehicles. Likewise,
the manufacturing and joining needs of these batteries are also
pushed by capacity, size, materials, and usage. Laser, resistance,
and microTIG technologies have specific features that align well
to these joining needs. A clear understanding of the technologies
and applications is needed to implement an efficient and reliable
production welding system.
GEOFF SHANNON, Ph.D. (geoff.shannon@amadamiyachi.com), is Laser Technology
Manager at Amada Miyachi America, Monrovia, CA.
1/16/15 11:48 AM
r e p o r t
Laser tube cutting for

agricultural machines
CUTTING SYSTEM STREAMLINES
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
ANTONIO VENDRAMINI
taly was one of the first countries in the world to

really follow the development of industrial applications of laser technologyso much so that, at the
end of the 1970s, Italian companies were exhibiting
innovative systems for machining 2D and 3D metal
structures for the first time. A lot of time has gone
by since then, but Italian technology has always
been present in the world of mechanical laser applications.
Today, the industry is experiencing new successes at US agricultural machinery manufacturer Unverferth Manufacturing Co.
(Shell Rock, IA) with the installation of a system to cut tubular
structures. This system has been designed and built by TTM
Laser S.p.A. (Cazzago San Martino, Italy) a specialist in the
design and manufacture of laser machinery and systems for
cutting and welding tubular parts and sheet metal components
(see Laser returns to the railway industry, ILS November 2012;
also see FIGURE 1) relating to the system installed at the Rail
Coach Factory, the Indian company that produces railway carriages for the country.
Lasers take the field
In 1948, Unverferth Manufacturing Co. began constructing and

manufacturing wheels, extensions, and hardware for equipping
agricultural machinery with two or three wheels. The response
was so positive that it soon became the focal point for many
farms worldwide. Today, with the many brands that make up
the group, Unverferth manufactures grain trailers, spraying and
weed-control tankers (FIGURE 2), and other related equipment.
In recent years, the US company has turned increasingly to
laser technology to try to solve a long-standing problem, which
involved a great deal of time and energy, to carry out complex
cutting processes on round and square tubes required for several applications. Unverferth was forced to work with saws and
machine toolsa process that involved a great deal of time
and money. It was therefore necessary and natural to focus
on automatic machining, which would not only reduce costs
1501ils_37 37
FIGURE 1. TTM Laser

S.p.A. is a company
that designs and
manufactures machines
and laser systems for
cutting and welding
tubes and sheet metal.
and production time, but also

be able to perform very complex cuts and eliminate transfers
of heavy parts from one workstation to another.
After a careful evaluation of
the systems available on the
market, the US company chose
to purchase the FL 400 3D cutting system manufactured by
TTM Laser S.p.A. It was one of the first negotiations for the
installation of our systems in the US, says Fabio Migliorati,
sales manager at TTM Laser S.p.A. Demonstrating our capabilities was not easy, due to the lack of references in the United
States, but thanks to practical demonstrations conducted at
our headquarters in Italy, we were able to convince the client
that it was possible to accurately cut tubes and profiles to size
by using our system. As a result, the client could achieve large
savings due to the simplification of the processes, performed
directly on a single machine, featuring considerable automation
of the part loading/unloading operations, instead of the components being handled by several machine tools. The great
accuracy with which these processes are carried out results
in a considerable reduction in the times required for subsequent component assembly.
37
1/16/15 11:48 AM
r e p o r t
The company also pointed

out that using a tube and bar
laser cutting system could
therefore improve just-in-time
production, putting the company in a position to meet the
related and increasingly growing demands of its customers. Another great advantage
was the improved use of the
production area, limiting the
extension of the intermediate
component warehouses during processing.
A great advantage of the FL systems

made by TTM Laser is that they use four
self-centering mobile chucks, which alternatively act as supports for the tubes during the loading or unloading process. This
configuration significantly increases productivity (reducing downtime) and the accuracy
of automatic processing. The mandrels are
equipped with the special floating mandrel
chuck system (FMS) feature, which is able
to compensate for irregularities in the trajectory of the tubes being processed, letting the
FIGURE 2. The pipes and bars of this weed control
external mandrels rotate eccentrically comsprayer are now made accurately with the 3D tube
pared to the theoretical center of rotation
laser cutting system, which was recently installed at
of the tube. The system is able to perform
Unverferth Manufacturing.
Lets cut it long
three-dimensional cuts thanks to the moveThe FL 400 3D is an automatic
ment of the cutting head (with the rotation
system for cutting tubular structures with diameters up to 406mm
A-axis up to 360 along the transverse Y-axis and the continuous
and lengths up to 12.5m (FIGURE 3), which are required for manrotation C-axis around the vertical Z-axis), which is equipped, in
ufacturing the wide range of systems for agricultural machinery
its end part, with a capacitive sensor for the precise control of the
made by Unverferth. The US company needed to cut tubular parts
distance from the surface of the tubular component. The system
with a maximum size of 350 200mm, with very different secis also equipped with dimensional control devices for checking the
tions, says Migliorati. The maximum thickness of these carbon
length of the tube at the time of loading, its orientation, and section.
steel components was approximately 20mm. For this reason, we
provided a machine capable of cutting tubes with diameters rangConquering America
ing from 40mm up to 406mm and any type of open profile within
How did the company from Brescia manage to get itself noticed
these circumferences. The maximum capacity on the panel is 300
by the American agricultural machinery manufacturing firm, with 300mm. The tubular parts can be loaded through bundle loadout having any experience in the US market?
ing (for components with a diameter below 254mm), or chain loadIt all started with the collaboration between TTM Laser and ITEC
ing with V-shaped handling supports. The system features chain
(Innovative Tube Equipment Corp.), which, in a very short time, has
unloading. The maximum length of the processed tubular parts
already been involved in the installation of the first FL-400 and the
is 12.5m, while the minimum length is 3050mm. The load capacsale of three TTM laser systems, representing the full range of FL
ity of our loading and cutting systems is 140Kg/m. The system is
type machines for tube processing, currently produced by the
equipped with a 4kW CO2 laser.
company from Brescia, says Migliorati. ITEC, which represents
other companies (some of which are in Brescia) operating in the field of tube processing, allowed us to access
this important marketwhich is currently among the
most promising onesin the best way possible. ITEC
also provides after-sales support for the machines sold.
Finding this distributor greatly facilitated the task of
interacting with the American industrial world. We were
and we are ready with our solutions, but we needed a
suitable and reliable local partner.
During the technical meetings, the Unverferth managers saw the list of our many installations carried out
in 14 years of business and found that TTM is the manufacturer of the largest tube laser cutting systems in the
world. From this, they received confirmation of our great
experience with specialization in customer oriented
solutions, made to solve the problems of our customers practically and efficiently, concludes Migliorati.
FIGURE 3. A TTM Laser S.p.A laser system for cutting tubes with diameters
up to 406mm is installed at agricultural machinery manufacturer Unverferth
Manufacturing.
38
1501ils_38 38
DR. ANTONIO VENDRAMINI (antonio_vendramini@iol.it) is a wellknown international consultant on industrial laser material processing,
a prolific author, and a periodic contributor to Industrial Laser Solutions.
His company, Lasertec s.a.s, is located in Segrate, Italynear Milan.
1/16/15 11:48 AM
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INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
Advertiser .......................................................................................................Page
Israel Dan Aronovic

972-9-899-5813 aronovic@actcom.co.il
7-12 SPIE Photonics West, San Francisco,

CA; http://spie.org/photonics-west.xml
23-26 Automate 2015, Chicago, IL; www.

automateshow.com
Aerotech, Inc. .......................................................................................................................... 10

Beijing JCZ Technology Co., Ltd.............................................................................................. 12
Hans Laser Technology .......................................................................................................... 18
IDEX Optics & Photonics ...........................................................................................................7
II-VI, Inc. ............................................................................................................................. 4, 22
IPG Photonics Corporation ..................................................................................................... C2
Lanmark Controls ................................................................................................................... 25
Laser Institute of America .......................................................................................................31
Laser Mechanisms, Inc...........................................................................................................C3
Laserbits ................................................................................................................................. 30
Messe Munchen GmbH ............................................................................................................27
Newport Corporation .............................................................................................................. 13
Nufern ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Ophir-Spiricon, Inc...................................................................................................................17
Osela Inc. ................................................................................................................................ 16
Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar ............................................................................. 32
PhotoMachining, Inc. .............................................................................................................. 16
Scanlab AG................................................................................................................................ 9
Society of Manufacturing Engineers/SME ............................................................................. 35
Synrad, Inc. ..............................................................................................................................11
Trumpf, Inc. .............................................................................................................................C4
United Lens ............................................................................................................................... 8
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39
1/16/15 11:49 AM
my view
Happy New Year
2014 COULD BE
REPEAT OF 2013
FOR INDUSTRIAL
LASER GROWTH
40
1501ils_40 40
As seen in the ILS Annual Review (see page 5),

2014 appears to be a replay of 2013 revenue
growth. I say appears because we wont have
confirmation of last-quarter 2014 revenue guidance from key public companies until later in the
first quarter of this year. So a little tweaking may
occur, but not enough to significantly change
the overall numberslast year, for example, we
bumped the total revenue number up 1 percent
as a result of unanticipated strength in the CO2
and direct-diode laser sectors. I shouldnt be so
offhand about 1-percent growththats a cool
$26 million.
Anyway, this page is called My View, and the
ground rules are that I can express personal
thoughts; in this case, my own perspective on
the industrial laser market as opposed to the ILS
industry-generated data and analysis on the earlier pages. Now, dont tighten up your sphincter
anticipating some economic bomb Ill drop. This
is just me in a contemplative mood after putting
the last Review together in December 2013.
Industrial laser suppliers came charging out of
the Great Recession with all guns blazing. New
fiber, diode, and ultrafast-pulse lasers, developed
during the dark days of 2008-2009, readied for a
buying-mood market in 2010. The result was a
21-percent increase in 2010 revenues, followed
by an 18-percent increase in 2011. While cracking
the $2-billion sales mark in 2012, revenue growth
slipped to 7 percenta not-so-inconsequential
$140 million of new laser sales and a growth number that stuck for the next three years.
The simple, obvious reason for the decline
to single- from double-digit revenue growth is
the pent-up buying demand after the recession.
Prior to 2009, the industry was cruising along

with acceptable, mid-single-digit growth numbers. And after the market dive, a spectacular
40-percent growth in fiber laser sales, followed
by four years of double-digit growth, lugged the
entire industrial laser market to successive years
of single-digit growth. The industrial laser market,
now approaching the $3-billion level, looks to be
a mid-to-strong single-digit market. And as I said
in the previous paragraph, whats wrong with a
potential $200 million a year in sales increases?
And now shifting gears, let me turn to thanks
mode. In 2014, ILS had the very strong support of
67 authors, located in the US and a dozen other
countries. Without the valuable technical knowledge they shared with ILS readers in more than
150 countries, we would not have fulfilled our mission to provide cutting-edge educational information to manufacturing decision-makers to assist
them in doing their jobs more efficiently and
effectively.
I am humbled by the response I received when
soliciting editorial material from these authors and
the many others who have graced the pages of
ILS, which is soon to approach its 30th year. For
example, while planning the 2015 issues late last
year, three dozen authors accepted an early invitation to contribute to this publication.
So, a blanket thanks goes to all of the contributors to a powerful ILS in 2014you are welcomed
to the ILS Author Honor Roll.
David A. Belforte
belforte@pennwell.com
1/16/15 11:49 AM
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1/16/15 11:49 AM
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1/16/15 11:49 AM

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J A N U A RY / F E B R U A RY

Annual Economic Review

Fiber lasers continue growth

A mobilized plan to counter laser

Femtosecond laser glass

Enhancing laser thin-film

AND R ALF HELLMANN

The future role for lasers as a key

Diffractive optical elements improve

Motion in laser micro-sintering

Accuracy and repeatability are key for

Battery welding: Selecting

Laser tube cutting for

Whats new with 100kW fiber lasers?

A blog by DAVID A. BELFORTE

Happy New Year

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