nLIGHT’s nanoPFL™ family of  pulsed fiber lasers feature a unique combination of high peak power, high pulse energy and frequency converted wavelengths in a robust, monolithic fiber assembly. The nanoPFL™ platform provides best-in-class peak power (150kW) and very short nanosecond pulses (1.3nsec) to reduce thermal effects typically experienced with solid state lasers in the nanosecond class. The nanoPFL™ lasers are currently available at 1064nm and 532nm.

 

The high intensity, short temporal pulses of the nanoPFL™ lasers significantly reduce the transfer of thermal energy to the work piece during microablation operations. This attribute is coupled with high pulse energies enabling high rates of material removal with minimal heat affected zone.  The nanoPFL™ technology delivers over 300% higher peak power than comparable DPSS and fiber lasers in its class.

 

nanoPFL™ lasers are ideally suited in applications currently served by low to mid power 1064nm, 532nm and 355nm pulsed DPSS lasers. These applications include:

 

·         Patterning of thin films

·         Thin wafer dicing (<100um silicon wafers)

·         Thin metal cutting

·         Micro-drilling

·         Scribing (e.g. sapphire substrates, ceramics, polymers)

·         Microwelding

·         MEMS patterning

·         Microvia drilling in PCBs

·         Nozzle Drilling for inkjet printers

·         Reel to Reel direct patterning of flex circuits

 

There has been, and continues to be, a significant shift in the preferred laser technologies deployed by end users in micro processing applications. Fiber laser technology continues to outpace all other laser technologies with an expected growth rate of 34% in 2010. In addition, there has been a significant shift in the finesse of lasers required in micro processing. This shift has been driven by requirements mainly in micro-fabrication and drilling applications requiring more precise ablation process performance. As a result, end users are moving toward shorter pulse widths and shorter wavelengths.

 

Shorter pulse widths, at all wavelengths, necessitate higher peak power in each individual pulse. The trend toward higher peak power becomes a limiting parameter for the majority of fiber laser manufacturers, mainly due to their combiner technology. The nanoPFL™ technology provides >150kW of peak power at the fundamental; 6 times higher than competitive fiber laser products.

 

The average selling price for lasers in this segment is approximately $35k; however the selling price varies widely depending on the application value, laser technology and average power. Laser pricing can vary from $8k for low peak power (15kW), 10W q-switched 1064nm DPSS and fiber lasers, to $60k for a 10W 1064nm DPSS laser with 50kW peak power. The nanoPFL|IR delivers three times the peak power at 58% of the list price of competitive, high peak power DPSS lasers.

 

We are on schedule to release beta units of the 20W nanoPFL|IR and the 5W nanoPFL|Green in June. In addition, we have a small number of customer demo’s that can be utilized for customer application development and verification. Please forward demo requests to the contact person below.

 

We have recently opened an Applications Lab at our Vancouver headquarters to enable customer applications development and process validation with customer samples. The lab is equipped with both the nanoPFL|IR and the nanoPFL|Green fiber lasers. Please forward customer sample requests on the form attached to the contact person below.