Apparatus for the formation by laser ablation of relatively narrow grooves and relatively wide areas and/or holes (26A, 27A) in the surface of a dielectric layer comprising: laser apparatus (71A, 73A) for providing a first laser beam that is strongly absorbed by the dielectric layer and has substantially diffraction limited beam quality and which operates continuously or quasi-continuously for direct writing of the grooves and characterized in that the layer apparatus (71A, 73A) further comprises a second laser beam that is strongly absorbed by the dielectric layer and which operates in pulsed mode for forming the areas and/or holes (26A, 27A) via an image of an aperture or mask or via focal spot shaping; and further characterized by the following features: a common optical path comprising a beam scanner for deflecting the first and second laser beams in two orthogonal axes relative to the dielectric layer and a lens for focussing the first laser beam onto the surface of the dielectric layer and, when the second laser beam is used, for forming an image of said aperture or mask on the surface of the dielectric layer or for forming a shaped focal spot on the surface of the dielectric layer; and a control system arranged, in a first step, to drive the beam scanner so that a focussed spot of the first laser beam is moved so as to vaporize the dielectric material to form relatively narrow grooves if the surface thereof and, in a second step, to drive the beam scanner so that a relatively wide laser spot from the second laser beam is incident on the surface of the dielectric layer and is moved to form relatively wide areas of defined depth in the surface thereof and/or is moved between a series of defined locations and the second laser beam held stationary at each location and a burst of laser pulses of sufficient number and energy is fired such that the dielectric material is vaporized to form a relatively inride hole (26A, 27A) of defined depth. laser apparatus (71A, 73A) for providing a first laser beam that is strongly absorbed by the dielectric layer and has substantially diffraction limited beam quality and which operates continuously or quasi-continuously for direct writing of the grooves and characterized in that the layer apparatus (71A, 73A) further comprises a second laser beam that is strongly absorbed by the dielectric layer and which operates in pulsed mode for forming the areas and/or holes (26A, 27A) via an image of an aperture or mask or via focal spot shaping; and further characterized by the following features: a common optical path comprising a beam scanner for deflecting the first and second laser beams in two orthogonal axes relative to the dielectric layer and a lens for focussing the first laser beam onto the surface of the dielectric layer and, when the second laser beam is used, for forming an image of said aperture or mask on the surface of the dielectric layer or for forming a shaped focal spot on the surface of the dielectric layer; and a control system arranged, in a first step, to drive the beam scanner so that a focussed spot of the first laser beam is moved so as to vaporize the dielectric material to form relatively narrow grooves if the surface thereof and, in a second step, to drive the beam scanner so that a relatively wide laser spot from the second laser beam is incident on the surface of the dielectric layer and is moved to form relatively wide areas of defined depth in the surface thereof and/or is moved between a series of defined locations and the second laser beam held stationary at each location and a burst of laser pulses of sufficient number and energy is fired such that the dielectric material is vaporized to form a relatively inride hole (26A, 27A) of defined depth. a common optical path comprising a beam scanner for deflecting the first and second laser beams in two orthogonal axes relative to the dielectric layer and a lens for focussing the first laser beam onto the surface of the dielectric layer and, when the second laser beam is used, for forming an image of said aperture or mask on the surface of the dielectric layer or for forming a shaped focal spot on the surface of the dielectric layer; and a control system arranged, in a first step, to drive the beam scanner so that a focussed spot of the first laser beam is moved so as to vaporize the dielectric material to form relatively narrow grooves if the surface thereof and, in a second step, to drive the beam scanner so that a relatively wide laser spot from the second laser beam is incident on the surface of the dielectric layer and is moved to form relatively wide areas of defined depth in the surface thereof and/or is moved between a series of defined locations and the second laser beam held stationary at each location and a burst of laser pulses of sufficient number and energy is fired such that the dielectric material is vaporized to form a relatively inride hole (26A, 27A) of defined depth.