Protecting the Edge: Ultrafast Laser Modified C-shaped Glass Edges

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel ultrafast laser technique for creating tailored, ultrasharp C-shaped edges on transparent materials in a single pass, enabling precise edge shaping with minimal equipment complexity.

Contribution

It introduces a holographic laser splitting method for ultrashort pulsed laser cleaving, allowing single-pass, full-thickness modifications with local edge control on transparent materials.

Findings

Successful fabrication of C-shaped edges with 45° tangential angles

Single-pass laser modification achieved at 1 m/s feed rate

Edge separation performed via selective etching after laser treatment

Abstract

A procedure and optical concept is introduced for ultrashort pulsed laser cleaving of transparent materials with tailored edges in a single pass. The procedure is based on holographically splitting a number of foci along the desired edge geometry including C-shaped edges with local 45{\deg} tangential angles to the surface. Single-pass, full thickness laser modifications are achieved requiring single-side access to the workpiece only without inclining the optical head. After having induced laser modifications with feed rates of 1 m/s actual separation is performed using a selective etching strategy.