Laser cutting: a gentler, more precise technique

Laser cutting techniques are usually powered by high energy beams, so hot that they melt most materials. Now scientists from McGill University have developed a gentler, more precise technique using low-power visible light.

The new process called "cold photo-carving" uses a fraction of the energy required in traditional laser cutting techniques. "We engineered crystal building blocks that can be cut by low-power light with amazing precision. Unlike traditional heat cutting methods, sculpting down to a resolution of nanometres is possible with our approach because light can be focused more precisely than heat can," says Professor Tomislav Friščić of the Department of Chemistry.