Each pixel in the plots shown in Figures 6 represents one laser pulse, with the color representing the pulse height integral. The lower-most row should be ignored because the scanning program was not yet fully synchronized to the raster pattern. The widths of the focal spot in x and y are shown in the 10 RMS values of the fits in Figure 7. The values in x and y are roughly the same, 65 µm vs 48 µm respectively. Figure 6a shows a maximum intensity at a z position of 4.8mm, however it is interesting to note that the shape of the focal spot does not appear to change drastically away from this point. The optical setup has a narrow focal spot with a wide depth of field which is ideal for the purpose of laser ablation. From this study it was also concluded that the use of a collimator at the focal point of L1 and L2 greatly reduced the background seen by the harp scan and should be used during the ablation process to protect the diamond surface away from the ablation point. | Each pixel in the plots shown in Figures 6 represents one laser pulse, with the color representing the pulse height integral. The lower-most row should be ignored because the scanning program was not yet fully synchronized to the raster pattern. The widths of the focal spot in x and y are shown in the 10 RMS values of the fits in Figure 7. The values in x and y are roughly the same, 65 µm vs 48 µm respectively. Figure 6a shows a maximum intensity at a z position of 4.8mm, however it is interesting to note that the shape of the focal spot does not appear to change drastically away from this point. The optical setup has a narrow focal spot with a wide depth of field which is ideal for the purpose of laser ablation. From this study it was also concluded that the use of a collimator at the focal point of L1 and L2 greatly reduced the background seen by the harp scan and should be used during the ablation process to protect the diamond surface away from the ablation point. |