OPeraTIC was represented in Santa Fe, where Dr. Andreas Rudolf from Photonic Tools delivered a talk at the SPIE High Power Laser Ablation conference.

His presentation, “Hollow‑core fibre beam delivery for high‑power ultrashort pulse lasers: expanding industrial laser surface processing applications”, highlighted recent progress in fibre‑based beam delivery systems for ultrashort pulse lasers.

Micro‑structured hollow‑core fibres enable the guidance of ultrashort pulses with peak powers of several hundred MW and pulse energies of hundreds of µJ — while maintaining excellent beam quality. The talk showcased a modular beam delivery system capable of using fibre lengths of several tens of metres, opening the door to large‑scale composite laser ablation for surface preparation.

When combined with advanced laser surface texturing techniques such as Direct Laser Interference Patterning and Direct Laser Writing, the system supports the structuring and functionalisation of large and complex‑shaped components. Key performance aspects — including efficiency, transmittable pulse energies, long‑term stability and beam quality during dynamic operation — were presented to the research and industrial laser community.