Programmable focal spot shaping of amplified femtosecond laser pulses and their application to micromachining
Résumé
We present programmable focal spot shaping of amplified femtosecond laser pulses by use of an optically addressed non-pixellated liquid crystal light valve. This extra-cavity phase filtering method is set-up in the frame of femtosecond micromachining processes. Various focal spot shapes are demonstrated together with drilling and marking results in metals and dielectrics. Photowriting of waveguides in bulk fused silica is also presented.