Patent ID: 7817319

Claim:
A laser processing system for providing a relatively small velocity of a laser beam at a target location while at least one scanner scans at a relatively larger velocity, said system comprising: a laser source for providing a pulsed laser output, the laser output having at least one beam with a beam dimension; a first scanning unit for scanning said laser output in reciprocating mutually opposed first and second directions at a substrate surface that includes the target location; a beam expander for receiving the laser output and for modifying a beam diameter of the laser output and providing a modified laser output along a modified laser output path; a second scanning unit for scanning said laser output in the second direction at the substrate surface that includes the target location, said first scanning unit having a relatively high operating frequency with respect to said second scanning unit such that a net velocity of movement of the modified laser output path in the second direction varies during each cycle of the second scanning unit from a positive velocity with respect to the second direction and a negative velocity with respect to the second direction and includes a zero crossing, and wherein the net velocity of the movement of the modified laser output path at the target location during the zero crossing may be made to be effectively reduced to a relatively small velocity during a laser pulse; a third scanning unit for scanning the modified laser output from the beam expander in a third direction at the substrate surface that includes the target location, said third direction being substantially orthogonal to said second direction; a controller for controlling said second scanning unit and said laser source responsive to a feedback signal from the first scanning unit; and focusing optics for focusing the modified laser output toward the target location.