Femtosecond and picosecond laser drilling of metals at high repetition rates and average powers

The influence of pulse duration on the laser drilling of metals at repetition rates of up to 1 MHz and average powers of up to 70 W has been experimentally investigated using an ytterbium-doped-fiber chirped-pulse amplification system with pulses from 800 fs to 19 ps. At a few hundred kilohertz particle shielding causes an increase in the number of pulses for breakthrough, depending on the pulse energy and duration. At higher repetition rates, the heat accumulation effect overbalances particle shielding, but significant melt ejection affects the hole quality. Using femtosecond pulses, heat accumulation starts at higher repetition rates, and the ablation efficiency is higher compared with picosecond pulses. © 2009 Optical Society of America.