Femtosecond laser workstation and micro-scale machining

Much attention has been paid to femtosecond laser micro-scale machining for its unique advantages in recent years, given the possibilities for processing materials in the absence of thermal damage, and the minimum dimensions that can be machined. In this article a femtosecond laser micromachining workstation is described and a new micro-scale modification system is designed and established. The development of a workstation applying a femtosecond laser source to enable controllable micro-machining, which consists of light source, mechanical and optical components, three dimension (3D) work platform, and control system. Mechanical and optical components are designed for laser beam focusing. Computer software and control system resolves the graphics and to drive the 3D work platform, respectively. With the designed system, percussion, parallel and grid fabricating methods are used to machine different micro-scale structures on stainless steel surface. Besides, the material's removal mechanisms and machining parameters are also investigated.