Femtosecond laser micro/nano-processing via multiple pulses incubation

As a flexible and efficient non-contact processing strategy in ambient air, femtosecond laser precision engineering has become an advanced technology for micro/nano-structure fabrication. Femtosecond laser can output ultrashort laser pulses at a very high repetition rate, ensuring higher machining accuracy and improving the machining efficiency. The femtosecond laser manufacturing is mostly processed under multiple pulses irradiation. At a high repetition rate, incubation effect based on the multiple pulses irradiation provides a new theoretical and technical support to realize precision manufacturing. Herein, a systematic review is conducted on the influence of laser repetition rate spanning from kHz to GHz. The physical mechanisms of three incubation modes, namely defects accumulation (kHz), heat accumulation (MHz), and plasma interaction (GHz), are summarized. The latest progress including micro/nano-structuring, nanostructure synthesis, three-dimensional functional structures fabrication and cross-scale precision engineering is explored. Furthermore, the prospect and challenge of the high-repetition-rate femtosecond laser processing in research frontiers and industrial applications are discussed.