Patent ID: 8124911

Claim:
A method for cutting a trench of multiple widths in a material with a single pass of a laser beam, the method comprising: at a first cutting speed of the laser beam with respect to a work surface of the material, cutting the work surface using a first series of laser pulses, each laser pulse in the first series having a first spot size at the work surface; in a transition region: gradually changing, according to a continuously changing cutting speed temporal profile, from the first cutting speed at a beginning of the transition region to a second cutting speed at an end of the transition region; and as the cutting speed gradually changes according to the continuously changing cutting speed temporal profile, cutting the work surface with a second series of laser pulses, wherein the second series of laser pulses sequentially change spot sizes as a function of time on a per pulse basis from the first spot size at the beginning of the transition region to a second spot size at the end of the transition region; and at the second cutting speed of the laser beam, continuing to cut the work surface using a third series of laser pulses, each laser pulse in the third series having the second spot size.