Micromachining of industrial materials with ultrafast lasers

The use of femtosecond-pulse titanium sapphire lasers for micromachining applications is described, with particular emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of this technology for existing and emerging microfabrication applications. The effects of micromachining in different materials such as silicon, diamond and glass are presented and the results are compared with those from other laser sources. The relevance to emerging applications is discussed.