Photonics May 2026
Laser Turning with Advanced Process Monitoring by Optical Microphone
Authors: Contents:- XARION’s Eta450 Optical Microphone enabled real-time monitoring of ultrashort-pulse laser turning by detecting the ultrasonic emissions generated by individual femtosecond laser ablation events.
- Thanks to its unique ultrasound bandwidth of 50 kHz to 2 MHz, the system reliably operated in an industrial machining environment despite process gas flow, exhaust systems, and ambient machine noise.
- Analysis of the acoustic signal provided direct information on material removal, workpiece diameter reduction, surface quality, laser fluence, and beam offset position, allowing multiple process parameters to be monitored with a single sensor.
- The results demonstrate that XARION’s membrane-free Optical Microphone can serve not only as a process monitoring tool but also as a foundation for automated closed-loop process control in ultrafast laser manufacturing.