By Kari Williamson

IMRA America is a supplier of femtosecond fibre lasers used in semiconductor manufacturing. It also holds exclusive rights to US Patent 5,656,186 from the University of Michigan, for femtosecond and picosecond laser materials processing.

The femtosecond fibre lasers emit pulses of light with a temporal duration on the order of femtoseconds (1 femtosecond is 1 quadrillionth of a second) at a high repetition frequency.

An advantage of femtosecond pulses is that the pulse duration is so short it is possible to minimise thermal damage. Femtosecond laser pulses can also create modifications within transparent materials without damaging the surface, IMRA says.