Fig. 1. Laser slicing process of Yb:YAG. (a) XPS survey of the Yb:YAG; (b) SEM image of the Yb:YAG irradiated by multipulse laser; (c)–(e) diagram illustrating YAG laser slicing process.

Fig. 2. Comparison of single-pulse and multipulse laser processing effects. (a) Impact of single-pulse laser with varying pulse widths on processing outcomes; (b) illustration of the self-focusing effect during laser processing; (c) optical micrograph of the secondary crystal damage caused by the self-focusing effect; (d) optical micrograph of the multipulse processing effect; (e) SEM image of the modified layer.

Fig. 3. Aberration correction technique during laser processing. (a) Schematic diagram of aberrations occurring during laser processing in high refractive index crystal; (b), (c) simulation of the electric field distribution and intensity at various depths within Yb:YAG crystals upon laser entry; (d) optical micrographs of the laser processing of crystals, depicting processing depths from left to right as 0.3, 0.66, and 1 mm; (e)–(h) simulation diagrams depicting the beam energy distribution and optical field distribution within the Yb:YAG crystals before and after aberration correction; (i), (j) optical micrographs of laser processing in the Yb:YAG crystal after aberration correction.

Fig. 4. Characterizations of the sliced Yb:YAG. (a) Photograph of Yb:YAG after laser slicing. Top (b) and side (c) view of the laser modified Yb:YAG; (d) schematic diagram of the Yb:YAG cleaving process after laser slicing. Photograph (e), X-ray rocking curve (f), optical micrograph (g), and SEM image (h) of the sliced Yb:YAG. Three-dimensional surface height distribution (i) and the corresponding line height variations of the sliced Yb:YAG (j).

Fig. 5. Mechanism of the laser slicing. (a) Schematic diagram of laser processing. SEM image of the hole in Yb:YAG produced by multipulse laser (b) and the corresponding atoms ratio according to EDS analysis (c); O 1s spectra of the Yb:YAG bulk crystal (d) and the sliced Yb:YAG (e); (f), (g) simulation results of temperature and stress distribution within Yb:YAG under laser irradiation; (h) SEM image of the modified layer; (i)–(k) the modified layer detaches from the crystal. (l) Photograph of the Φ12 mm thin slices Yb:YAG.