Processing of polymer

Polymers are widely used in various applications, including automotive, medicine, and consumer electronics. However, due to their inherent property of low heat conductivity, polymers are quite sensitive to heat. High thermal loads can lead to significant heat affected zones, warping, and carbonization. Femtosecond lasers, with their very short pulse durations, offer a solution to this problem by enabling the precise machining of polymers while preserving process quality.

The FemtoLux 30 is an ideal tool for polymer processing applications for several reasons. First, its short pulse duration of 350 fs allows the material to be processed without significant thermal effects, resulting in superior quality. Additionally, the FemtoLux 30 high repetition rate of 4 MHz enables the processing of polymers at high throughput, often reaching scanning speeds of several meters per second.

For instance, a 10 mm diameter circle can be cut from a polymer film in just 400 milliseconds, with cutting speeds reaching 300 mm/s. Also, the process quality can be increased by using shorter wavelengths, such as 515 or 343 nm. This can result in reduction of heat-affected zone by 27%, though it requires a trade-off in process throughput due to the lower average power at shorter wavelengths.