Femtosecond Laser

A femtosecond laser is a type of laser that emits extremely short pulses of light, each lasting only a femtosecond. To put it in perspective, a femtosecond is one quadrillionth (10^-15) of a second – an incredibly tiny unit of time.

Traditional lasers emit continuous or longer pulses of light, but femtosecond lasers produce pulses that are exceptionally brief. Because the pulses are so short and they contain a lot of energy, it makes them very powerful and useful for a variety of scientific and practical applications.

These lasers are used in fields like physics, chemistry, medicine, and manufacturing because their ultra-short pulses allow researchers and engineers to observe and manipulate processes that happen at extremely fast timescales. In manufacturing, femtosecond lasers are used create extraordinary precise cuts in materials because the laser pulse duration is much shorter than the time required for energy / heat to transfer to base material. As a result, irradiated material is vaporized without producing a recast motlen material resulting in very clean cuts with a minimal heat-affected zone (HAZ).

So, in essence, a femtosecond laser is a specialized tool that emits ultra-short bursts of powerful light, enabling us to create micron sized features in tubular components while maintaining exceptional material properties.