In-situ Metrology and Laser Process Controll

Our expertise in in-situ metrology and process control is anchored in the use of advanced laser systems renowned for their high controllability. We help you to develop laser technologies that monitor and optimize your manufacturing processes.

Modern lasers and beam actuators facilitate rapid adaptation to variations in processes or workpieces, although they require a deep understanding of the process. State of the art sensor technologies play a crucial role in better understanding and supervising laser processes, while generating signals for live control and closed-loop feedback.

Our R&D Services for Product and Machine Manufacturers Include:

• Development of In-situ Metrology and Laser Process Control customized for your manufacturing process
• Development of optical sensor systems for process monitoring
• Measuring transient optical response of your samples under irradiation with intense laser pulses
• Implement sensor systems to automatically control laser processes

Our R&D services are applied in the topics of On-the-Fly-Tracking and High-Speed Imaging, Themal Imaging and High-Speed Pyrometry and Time-Resolved Process Observation.

Our solutions for on-the-fly tracking and high-speed imaging enable the adaptation of laser beam trajectories to workpieces in motion with control bandwidths of up to 3kHz. This capability is demonstrated using an optical sensor array as tracking device that generates control signals for beam positioning units, such as galvanometer scan mirrors, to adjust for speed fluctuations of the workpiece on a conveyor belt in realtime during the process. This concept simplifies laser machining system concepts while ensuring high precision, thanks to our sensor and control technology.

To supervise and control rapid laser heating processes, we employ highspeed pyrometry and spatially resolved thermography. Combined, the sensor signals can serve as input for an adaptive system to control heating diodes, ensuring precise temperature regulation and customized heating profiles. 

While pulsed laser processes can be well controlled, the short pulses and time of irradiation, and the small volume in which they typically operate, make an observation of the process a real challenge. Our approach is, to use automated in-situ microscopy, pump-probe and Z-scan techniques for the observation of transient optical properties during pulsed laser processes. This provides insights into nonlinear and laser-induced absorption across different materials. We can determine the dynamics during the process, for example sudden phase changes and explosive material ejection and analyze laser modifications on a micrometer spatial scale with a temporal resolution down to 200 femtoseconds.

Live observation of microscopic laser modifications to create sub-surface cracks in transparent materials.