The Pulse of Innovation

Ultrafast athermal lasers, or femtolasers, are revolutionizing medical device manufacturing by literally taking the heat out of the machining process. Until recently found only in top research laboratories, IntriMed's laser technology removes target materials literally atom by atom using extremely short pulses lasting 50 – 1,000 femtoseconds, or quadrillionths of a second, a span too brief to create the heat damage associated with conventional lasers (Figures 1,2).

	Fig 1. Stainless steel ablated using conventional laser processing		Fig 2. Stainless steel ablated using ultrafast athermal laser processing
		Chichkov, Appl. Physics, A63 (1996):109

Capable of cutting, drilling and machining micro components made from virtually any material – polymers, bioabsorbable, metals, glass - with extreme precision (Figures 3,4), this technology is helping medical device manufacturers dramatically shrink the scale of their devices while simultaneously increasing efficiency through fewer steps and higher yields.

	Fig 1. Stent pattern cut from Nitinol tubing with 250 μm wall.		Fig 2. A  210 μm hole machined in 51 μm wall polyimide tubing.

Ultrafast Athermal Laser Advantages

Ultrafast Athermal Laser Manufacturing Fact Sheet

Images: Courtesy Raydiance, Inc. Used with permission.