MANUFACTURING with short pulse lasers FOCUS is within reach. The initial pulses in a burst can preheat the material, enhancing absorption and ablation rates. Methods to monitor the process in real time are also a requirement.
Two additional challenges include:( 1) the developing USP lasers at new wavelengths to access transparency windows in novel materials and( 2) achieving finer-scale material machining, such as for metamaterial fabrication.
Laser sources that were once unimaginable a few decades ago are now commercially available. They enable advanced manufacturing across a spectrum of materials— from the softest to the hardest— and scales— from the smallest features to large surfaces. Their applications span
Figure 4. 3D glass manufacturing and micro-drilling in stainless steel plate by IREPA LASER using USP laser.
biotechnology, aerospace, information technology, quantum optics, and beyond. We are only at the dawn of their potential. These lasers will serve as a pen to write the future.
REFERENCES
ACKNOWLEDGMENT Thanks to my colleagues and PhD students( ICube Lab) and to IREPA LASER, industrial partner of our ANR jointed lab LaserSurf.
[ 1 ] B. De Azevedo, J. Schiffler, T. Engel, F. Antoni, W. Uhring, É. Audouard, A. Bahouka, S. Lecler, Opt. Laser Technol. 199, 115022( 2026). https:// doi. org / 10.1016 / j. optlastec. 2026.115022
[ 2 ] C. Mauclair, B. Najih, V. Comte, F. Bourquard, M. Delaigue, Opto-Electron. Sci. 4, 250002( 2025) https:// doi. org / 10.29026 / oes. 2025.250002
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