Glass processing using the fourth harmonic of nanosecond pulse Nd:YAG laser

Ablation processing of borosilicate glass was carried out using the fourth harmonic of the Q-switch Nd:YAG laser. The dependency of the ablation depth on irradiation pulse energy density and the dependency of the ablation depth on irradiation spot size were investigated. The average ablation depth increased with an increase in irradiation pulse energy density. When the irradiation pulse energy density was the same, the ablation depth of the focused beam with a large spot diameter was deeper than that of the focused beam with a small spot diameter. To shorten the processing time, an increase in the irradiation pulse energy density and use of a large spot size focused beam are effective. Using area scanning together with line scanning, a rectangular through hole (sub-mm size) without cracks or chips was formed in borosilicate glass of 140 μm in thickness.