The recent growth in the organic light-emitting diode market has resulted in substantial investments in the display industry, particularly from South Korean companies, but also from Chinese players, and this trend is expected to continue for a further three to four years. This expansion of the display industry has resulted in a growth of ultrashort-pulse (USP) laser markets due to the requirement for higher power and more precise processing quality. This industry is prepared to pay for better laser-based solutions which has fuelled the demand for shorter pulsed CO₂ lasers for film cutting applications. One of the key features required in the market is to minimize the heat effect on the material during the cutting process.

Luxinar’s SR AOM CO₂ laser has a typical 2 µs demand pulse shape that exhibits a ~350 ns pulse rise time.  This short optical pulse rise/fall time helps to minimize the heat-affected zone (HAZ) which is ideal for cutting thin films such as polarization, projected capacitive and PDLCD. Other applications in the automotive, electronics, lighting and flexible packaging industries can also benefit from the higher quality cutting edge which the SR AOM offers when compared to standard pulsed CO₂ lasers.

Read the full article in the October/November 2021 issue of PhotonicsViews:
P. Kim (Luxinar): Material processing with fast rise and fall time CO2 laser pulses – New CO₂ laser system using an integrated acousto-optic modulator, PhotonicsViews 18(5), 51 – 53; DOI: 10.1002/phvs.202100040