Patent ID: 7982161

Claim:
An improved method for forming a via in an electronic substrate having a layer of conductive material and a layer of insulating material, including the steps of producing a laser pulse with a laser, and directing said laser pulse to impinge upon said electronic substrate, said directed laser pulse defined by pulse parameters, the improvement comprising the further steps of: selecting at least one of said pulse parameters; producing with said laser at least one laser pulse consistent with said at least one selected pulse parameter, providing laser beam tailoring optics external to said laser to tailor said laser pulse, tailoring said laser pulse with said tailoring optics, and; directing said at least one tailored laser pulse to remove insulating material from an intended volume of said electronic substrate defining said via, without causing substantial damage to said substrate in the vicinity of said via thereby drilling said via, wherein at least one said selected pulse parameter being application of at least one tailored pulse, said tailored pulse including at least one power spike characterized by a peak power greater than about 20% above the average power of the pulse with a duration less than about 50% of the duration of the pulse.