New Developments and Applications in Scan Head Technology

Andreas Engelmayer
SCANLAB AG
Benzstrasse 28
82178 Puchheim, Germany
ABSTRACT
Galvanometer technology uses high-dynamic-performance rotating mirrors to move and position laser
beams – and thereby significantly speed-up laser processing in a wide variety of applications. This
paper examines the fundamentals of galvanometer-based scan head technology as well as a variety of
applications and their respective setups. We conclude with a look at novel setups for high-precision
manufacturing and welding scan systems using multi-kW lasers and robots.

INTRODUCTION TO SCAN HEAD Additionally to the general advantages of laser

materials processing, a scan-system-based process
TECHNOLOGY
allows much higher processing speeds – often the key
Over the past 20 years, laser processing systems have factor that renders this method superior to other
found their way into countless industrial applications manufacturing technologies and also enables
such as welding, cutting, scribing, engraving, drilling material-saving production. Regardless of the
and marking. Galvanometers are most often used for application, laser materials processing systems
rapid and precise positioning of the laser focus on the essentially rely on the following components: laser
work piece. Galvanometers are rotational drives with source, beam conditioner, beam positioner and
high resolution and acceleration to which laser-grade controller. Additional application-specific components
mirrors are attached. Typically, galvanometers are may also be used, such as handling systems, robots,
found in two-axis setups that deflect the laser beam image processors or process control equipment. The
in two dimensions. The laser beam can be positioned basic scan head system setup is illustrated in Figure 1.
with pinpoint accuracy and specified patterns can be
For focusing, a special field flattening optic, an
traversed by the beam at defined speeds. The contour
f-theta objective, is typically used and mounted at the
traced by the laser focus is determined solely by the
scan head’s beam exit. This objective focuses the
scan head’s controller.
collimated laser beam completely within a plane,
independently of the deflection mirror’s position.
Such f-theta objectives are available for a wide variety
of wavelengths and focal lengths. The side length of
the resulting image field is usually 50–70 % of the
objective’s focal length. Telecentric f-theta objectives
– available for micro materials processing – focus the
laser beam perpendicularly to the image plane,
typically with a side length of up to 50 mm.
The focus diameter is determined by the objective’s
focal length f, and thus the processable surface area,
together with the laser type and the scan head’s
aperture. For a Gaussian beam profile, the focus
diameter s can be calculated using the following
formula:
Figure 1: Setup of a scan-head-based laser s = λ f M2 k / d
system. Focusing is provided by an f-theta flat
field objective; the optional varioSCAN unit Whereby λ is the laser wavelength, M2 is the beam
enables 3D-positioning of the focus. Diverse quality and d is the beam diameter prior to entering
focusing-optic variants are illustrated in the focusing optics. The factor k accounts for laser
Figure 2. beam diffraction by apertures or in objectives (for
details see [1]). To maximize power density at the
focus, and thus processing speed, the beam width
should be expanded to nearly equal the scan head’s TYPICAL SCAN HEAD APPLICATIONS
aperture. In this case, k = 1.83. Typical configurations Laser marking is a key application for galvanometer
and their achievable spot sizes, together with scan technology, with thousands of systems sold
example applications, are listed in Table 1. annually. Laser-marked text is permanent, has good
For some applications, rapidly moving lens systems legibility and requires no consumables. This
are placed in front of the scanners to focus the laser application is ideal for expiration codes on food
beam (by adapting the focal length to the distance packaging, text on credit cards or personal IDs, and
between the deflection mirror and the laser beam’s many other labeling tasks.
destination point on the work piece). Such varioSCAN In the automotive industry, laser marking is used for
optics are particularly useful when no appropriate manufacturing day-and-night design components,
f-theta objectives are available – e.g. for wide beam and for serializing on glass, metal or labels for
diameters or large image fields, high laser powers or traceability. Other scan-head-based laser processes,
exotic laser wavelengths. Moreover, the varioSCAN like stereo lithography and laser sintering, are used
optics enable 3D processing within scan volumes and for rapid prototyping and manufacturing, which
can be used alone or in conjunction with f-theta enables the creation of new parts or models within
objectives. Various focusing setups for laser scanning only a few days. In these applications, data from a 3D
systems are depicted in Figure 2. CAD model is sliced into layers a few hundred
microns thick, which are then built-up on top of each
other in the laser system by processing a UV-curable
resin or a metal, sand or plastic-based powder.
Plastics welding with diode or Nd: YAG lasers in the
100-W range is utilized, for example, to manufacture
car lights or containers for windshield washing fluid.
Figure 2: Laser beam focusing via scan systems New applications include cutting of inorganic
(from left): pre-focusing lens, f-theta objective, materials, e.g. for manufacturing air-bags or car
dynamic pre-focusing and combining dynamic seats, as well as spot welding of metals via scan
pre-focusing with an f-theta objective. systems (described later).

DSP control boards, with on-board memory, function Besides marking and automotive applications, scan
as the hardware interface between the application systems find use in numerous other applications such
software, scan head and laser. These boards as high-precision material processing for the
synchronize laser control with the scanner electronics industry (discussed later), medical
movements and implement image correction to technology (Lasik eye surgery, OCT), and textile and
ensure that text is precisely positioned without pin- leather processing (cutting, marking or creating
cushion distortion and marked at a constant speed “distressed” effects).
along each vector. Third-party software packages are
available for many standard laser marking
applications (Figure 3).

Figure 3: User-friendly GUI software (© Alase

Technologies Inc. and American LaserWare
Inc.) provides the interface between the user
and the scanner controller.

Figure 4: Scan heads are available in various

configurations for a range of requirements and
applications.
To address the widely differing requirements various applications, their requirements and
concerning laser power, precision and processing appropriate scan heads. Table 1 lists the
speeds, numerous scan system configurations are on corresponding technical requirements.
the market. Figure 4 depicts the relationship between

Laser Scan Head Focal Focus Image Field Scan Speed Application
Aperture Length

CO2 7 mm 100 mm 330 µm 70 x 70 mm2 800–1100 CPS, Marking

10.6 µm 3.5 m/s marking
M2 = 1.15 speed
50 W

Nd:YAG 10 mm 160 mm 45 µm 100 x 100 mm2 500–800 CPS, Marking

1,064 nm 2.5 m/s marking
M2 = 1,3 speed

CO2 36/33 mm 550 mm 350 µm 0.3 x 0.3 m2 5.0 m/s cutting Cutting
10.6 µm (40 mm at speed
M2 = 1.15 focusing
1–2 kW optics)

CO2 76/70 mm 1.65 m 600 µm 1 x 1 m2 15 m/s positioning Remote

10.6 µm (80 mm at speed welding
M2 = 1.25 focusing
5 kW optics)

Nd:YAG 14 mm 163 mm 120 µm 100 x 100 mm2 140–220 CPS, Marking,

1,064 nm 0.7 m/s marking engraving
M2 = 5 speed

Nd:YAG 25 mm 80 mm 220 µm 25 x 25 mm2 170–260 CPS, Micro-

1,064 nm 0.8 m/s marking welding,
150 µm speed, 3.5 m/s spot
fiber positioning speed welding
NA = 0.22

Nd:YAGx2 14 mm 100 mm 10 µm 50 x 50 mm2 220–350 CPS, Subsurfac

532 nm 1.0 m/s marking e
M2 = 1.3 speed, 7.0 m/s engraving
positioning speed,
1 kHz jumps

Nd:YAGx3 10 mm 100 mm 10 µm 50 x 50 mm2 1,5 m/s processing Drilling,

355 nm speed structurin
M2 = 1.3 g

Table 1: Overview of typical scan systems and applications. Photos © Sator Laser GmbH, NWL Laser Technologie
GmbH, LasX Industries, Inc., BMW Group, Laservall S.p.A., Vitro Laser GmbH, Trumpf Inc. Laser Technology
Center, Potomac Photonics, Inc.
SCAN SYSTEM FOR MICROMACHINING
The trend toward better, smaller, lighter and lower-
priced products, e.g. cell phones, is in part made
possible by laser-based manufacturing processes.
Typical applications include drilling, cutting,
structuring and material removal on components
such as circuit boards, silicon, ceramics, III-V
compounds, ITO coatings, Mylar and Kapton (see
Figure 6). The structural dimensions involved
generally range from ten to more than a hundred
micrometers. The beam sources employed are often
UV lasers such as frequency-tripled Nd:YVO4 lasers.
Thanks to their beam-positioning performance, Figure 5: Laser micromachining with scan
galvanometer-based scan systems, either alone or in systems. Top: 3D Teflon web for fluidic systems
conjunction with XY tables, offer numerous (© Lumera Laser GmbH) and 15-µm HDIs
advantages: manufactured with “mill-and-fill” technology
(© Potomac Photonics, Inc.). Bottom: Kapton
• High processing speeds processing and micro vias in copper/dielectric
• Optimized processing strategies (© Photomachining, Inc.).

• Minimal thermal loading of work pieces through The achievable static precision of a conventionally
heat transfer calibrated scan system is determined by the sum of its
gain, offset and orthogonality errors, nonlinearities
• Ability to process complex geometries and tolerances of the employed optics. With a
Scan system selection is determined primarily by precisely aligned laser, this is on the order of a few
image field requirements, focus size, processing tens of micrometers. To achieve yet higher precision
speed and precision. A typical scan system for micro requires more sophisticated scan system calibration
materials processing is equipped with a 10-mm (see Figure 6).
aperture and designed for a wavelength of 355 nm.
Such a scan system, with a telecentric objective of
100 mm focal length, can achieve a focus diameter of
less than 10 µm in an image field with 50-mm sides.
Obtainable processing speeds are governed by the
scan system’s dynamic performance and are typically
several hundred millimeters per second for
micromachining.
Achievable precision is determined by static and
dynamic repeatability as well as controller resolution.
Dynamic repeatability – the scan system’s ability to
travel a straight line to the target position without
oscillation or noise – is described by its wobble, jitter
and dither values. Wobble and jitter are mechanical
oscillations of the mirror perpendicular or parallel to
the scan direction. Dither is imprecision introduced by
residual noise of the scanner electronics. This effect is
usually only a factor when processing with lasers of
short wavelength and good beam quality and
therefore plays no role in most conventional
applications. For micromachining, specially optimized Figure 6: Software for precisely calibrating scan
scan systems are available with tracking accuracy to systems.
within just a few micrometers.
Without correction, scan system drift over eight hours
can reach up to 60 µm with the scan system
described above. Drift can be minimized by thermally Camera systems through the scan head are primarily
stabilizing the electronics and motor unit (Figure 7). employed for ascertaining the exact orientations and
For even higher precision, scan systems can be geometries of work pieces to be processed and
equipped with a supplemental high-precision position facilitate control of subsequent processing. Figure 9
detector that enables automatic self-calibration to illustrates the setup. This method requires neither
compensate for thermal and long term drift. tight component tolerances nor precise positioning
and works well with a near-IR or visible laser source.
The special optics required for UV processing often
prohibit use of a vision system through the scan
head.

Figure 7: Special scan head for micromachining,

with optimized low-noise tuning and active
water-cooling capabilities for electronics and/or
motors.

In addition to the scan system, other components

such as the laser and the overall mechanical setup Figure 9: Fully digital intelliSCAN 10 for highly
can induce drift. To determine the total drift of a laser demanding applications.
system, inspection systems or sensors can be placed
Next-generation scan systems will be equipped with
in the image field to measure the difference between
fully digital scanner motor control electronics
the actual and target position. The drift can then be
(Figure 10). Based on a digital servo board with a DSP
corrected via appropriate control values.
system for each galvanometer axis, these scan heads
The highest level of processing precision requires feature highly advanced control algorithms and
periodic recalibration, which is a technically achieve performance far superior to the fastest
demanding and time-intensive process. Such analog driven systems. Also, the extensive array of
measures, though, often result in long-term accuracy signals and information from the scan head bring a
of a few micrometers. multitude of benefits to the system user. Real time
monitoring makes advanced diagnostics possible –
key galvanometer status parameters such as position,
speed, current, and temperature enable advanced
remote diagnosis and process documentation.
Operational status history provides traceability of
process consistency, thereby verifying quality control.
Monitoring system operating statistics at the
component level offer the opportunity to schedule
routine maintenance intervals, avoid unnecessary
downtime during critical production periods, and
enhance the serviceability of the scan head system.
Monitoring of the scanned tracks and speed lets the
user optimize both the scan head’s and laser’s
parameters for best productivity and quality.
Advanced scan head control enables on-the-fly
modification of tunings specific to the current scan
track, with the objective of maintaining optimal
Figure 8: The camera system (bottom) placed in dynamic performance. As a further process
the laser beam path (top) provides the basis for enhancement, data from the digital servo can be
precise beam positioning. used to synchronize the laser frequency to the
galvanometer dynamics. Future generations of digital
scan heads will enable firmware updates that add typical objective achieving a 0.6 mm spot in a 150–
new control algorithms and customized parameters – 200 mm field has a focal length of around 300–
thus ensuring that galvanometer-based laser 400 mm and a free working distance of around 400–
processing continues to push the technology 500 mm. Shorter focal lengths are susceptible to
envelope [2]. contamination of the optics while longer focal
lengths make it difficult to weld inside a car body.
SCAN HEADS ON ROBOTS Long focal lengths usually require large robot
Mounting a scan head on a robot can be an ideal movements when processing at a constant angle of
partnership that unites both systems’ advantages incidence on a curved part. If such a scan system is
while overcoming their specific weaknesses. additionally equipped with a special varioSCAN for
Compared to robots, scan heads are very fast and high laser powers, the focal plane can be shifted by
dynamic – scan systems can process even filigree about 50–100 mm as depicted in Figure 1 and
features at high speed or optimize process patterns Figure 2 (right).
(e.g. by using many jumps between weld points, The easiest but less effective way to control a scan
which minimizes heat-induced material stress). On head-robot combination is to move robot and
the other hand, robot-based systems can process scanners alternately. To significantly enhance
large working areas with a small spot, adjust the productivity, the scanner controller has “processing-
angle between the laser beam and work piece, on-the-fly” capability, which is scanning the laser
process off-plane and access areas which are not beam simultaneously with the linear robotic motion.
reachable by a scan head due to obstruction of line of Both setups are already successfully used for different
sight. marking, cutting or welding applications.
Laser welding typically requires multi-kW lasers and The highest productivity and flexibility would be
spot sizes in the range of 0.6 mm. Until recently, such achieved with a more integrated solution where the
requirements could only be achieved by scan systems robot can be moved continuously on an arbitrary
together with CO2 lasers. A few of these remote trajectory and at variable speeds. Such control is a
welding systems are successfully used in automotive considerable challenge, as the real robot movement
manufacturing. Nevertheless, such scan systems have will change with the programmed speed. Therefore,
many limitations: The setup is usually static, as CO2 the scan system will have to compensate the
lasers cannot be fiber-guided and their interaction tolerances of the robot movement, as well as the
with many materials in not ideal. The scanning process pattern, on the fly in 3D. Controlling the
mirrors are quite large and heavy, as they must have scanner requires updating coordinates at a periodicity
large apertures to achieve a sufficiently small spot size much shorter than the scanner’s time lag (see
and handle the high laser power. Also, the geometry Figure 10). Otherwise the scanner jumps between
of the parts to be processed is very restricted, as the guiding points, resulting in an uneven deposition of
positions of the scan head and work piece are usually laser energy on the target. For the hurrySCAN 30
fixed. scan head, the time lag is in the range of half a
Recently introduced disc and fiber lasers offer high millisecond and the update period should be less than
beam quality and high power in the near-IR regime. 30–50 µs. Typically, a robot system cannot deliver
As both lasers can be easily delivered to the scan information to the scanner at this rate as its own
head via fiber they offer a multi-position solution for control is optimized to its much longer time lag.
scanner welding applications.
Scan heads with apertures of 25 mm to 30 mm are
sufficient to handle the high laser power and achieve
the required spot in a 150–200-mm field. These scan
heads are a fraction of the size of CO2 remote scan
heads and more closely resemble their counterparts
used for marking applications. The first tests with
such a setup are described in [3].
To focus the laser beam, an f-theta flat field objective
is typically used. A huge selection of such objectives is
available for laser marking and at laser powers up to
1 kW. When used with high duty cycles and higher
laser powers, these objectives show thermal lensing Figure 10: Command and real position for a
and can be damaged. For such laser powers, vector scan differ by a time lag which is about
customized fused silica objectives are available. A 0.5 ms for a typical remote welding scan head.
Nevertheless, the robot must act as a master, also
controlling the scan head. Therefore the data REFERENCES / LITERATURE
available from the robot must be further processed [1] Melles Griot Catalog, “Optics Guide”, chapter:
though an intelligent real-time scanner controller. “Introduction to Gaussian Beam Optics”
Such a controller interpolates between robot
coordinates and performs all necessary scanner [2] D. Sabo, D. Brunner and A. Engelmayer:
specific transformations to output coordinates to the “Advantages of Digital Servo Amplifiers for
scanner at the required update rate. Control of a Galvanometer Based Optical
The current controller boards used in laser scanning Scanning System”, SPIE Optics & Photonics 2005
are not optimized for such an integrated operation. Proceedings
Position data is currently written from a PC into a
[3] W. Penn, “Precision Cutting and Welding with
buffer on the controller board. There, it is further
Fiber Laser”, ALAC 2004 Proceedings
processed (micro-vectorization, image field
correction, etc.) and then output with some delay to [4] D. Sabo & A. Engelmayer: Laser Beam Positioning
scanner and laser. There is no common robot Using Galvanometer Technology, ICALEO 2004
interface currently available that can be developed Short Course
into a standardized controller.
Even without such an integrated controller, a [5] A. Engelmayer: “Galvanometer Scanning Speeds
combination of robot and scan head brings Laser Processing”, Industrial Laser Solutions,
tremendous benefits to the user due to the high February 2005
dynamic performance, enabling high laser duty
cycles, precision and optimized processing strategies, [6] A. Engelmayer: „Mikrobearbeitung mit Scan-
as well as the flexibility, large process area and Systemen“, Europäischer Lasermarkt 2005
versatility of a robot process.
[7] R. Schaeffer: “Seeing the Light – Galvo Based
CONCLUSION Laser Scanning Systems”, CircuiTree (Sep. 2003)

Laser scanning systems are the ideal laser beam [8] B. Gu, “Laser-Micro-Machining in Semiconductor
positioning tool in many industrial applications. They and Electronics Industries”, ALAC 2004
enable the throughputs necessary for competitive Proceedings
manufacturing and material-saving – thanks to very
high scanning and positioning speeds. Combining [9] M. Li and H. Endert, “Microfabrication Using
scan heads with other handling systems, such as Diode-Pumped Solid-State Lasers”, ALAC 2004
robots, will offer benefits not available through the Proceedings
use of scan systems alone.