These guides describe the variables we evaluate for each material family and the numbers an engineer should ask for. Published results apply only to the stated material and test conditions. Where a number says “trial data required,” we have not run that specific construction, and we will not guess at it.
Filter by process
Selective removal of one layer without touching the one beneath — coatings, metallization, inks, and electrode material, in register.Through-cutting and kiss-cutting without tooling, on materials that mechanical cutting distorts.Micro-holes at controlled diameter and taper — vents, vias, filters, and flow features in films, foils, and thin metals.Surface texturing and shallow patterning — bond-ready surfaces, controlled roughness, and functional textures without masks or chemistry.Cut the face stock, leave the liner — labels, tapes, gaskets, and medical components released from a carrier, without a die.LaserSharp® high-speed, high-resolution marking applied directly to packaging — no ink, no label, no consumable.Features to 25 µm in films, foils, and device components — including femtosecond processing where heat cannot be tolerated.Micro-hole patterns for breathable packaging, controlled-atmosphere structures, and tear initiation.Depth-controlled scores for easy-open features, in register, at line speed.Micro-joining of thin metals and polymers — low heat input, no filler, no contact.
Filter by industry
Acoustic liners, pressure-equalization features, and precision-cut composites — two decades of aerospace contract work.Electrode foils, fuel-cell components, and battery package materials — cut without tooling wear; burr height and heat-affected zone measured in the trial.Bottles, caps and rigid packs: inkless date and lot codes, serialization, embellishment and label-replacement graphics marked straight onto the package.Microfluidic channels, biosensor electrodes, and laminate assemblies to 25 µm — cut and laminated in one controlled process.Flex circuits, printed electronics, RFID antennas and RFI/EMI shielding: precision apertures and patterns in films and foils, roll-to-roll or from sheet.Easy-open scoring, breathable perforation and registered features in packaging film — digital recipes instead of mechanical tooling. For the converter running the line and the brand owner specifying the pack.Cutting, scoring, and windowing for cartons — digitally, in register, without a die.Laser-cut gaskets, adhesive components and die-cut replacements from silicone, foam, acrylic adhesive and release-lined stock. No tooling, no crush, and a part change is a file change. Buy the equipment or have LasX run the parts.Intricate cutting, etching, finishing, and stencils for commercial print — geometry a die maker would refuse.Labels and stickers: kiss-cutting, die-cutting, perforating and marking for pressure-sensitive stock — every SKU is a file, not a die.Wearables, electrodes, catheters, stents and UDI marking: micron-scale features in medical films, laminates and device components, with cleanroom capability. Non-metallic medical parts run under our ISO 13485-certified quality system.ID cards, credentials and security documents — polycarbonate windows, inlay processing and document perforating, cut in register with no die to wear.Scanner-based femtosecond micromachining for advanced packaging — glass-core substrates, through-glass vias, wafer and panel scribing, and selective thin-film ablation. Developed on your material first.Wide-web cutting and finishing for technical and decorative textiles — sealed edges, no fray, no tooling.
Thin metal foils, bare and coated, laser cut where mechanical slitting can't hold edge quality. Burr height and heat-affected zone measured per foil and coating.
NIR 1064 nm; green 532 nm for copper, which absorbs it several times better than NIR; femtosecond NIR or green where the heat-affected zone must approach zero
Pulse regime
Nanosecond NIR for bare foil and shim; picosecond or femtosecond for coated electrode foil and wherever HAZ must approach zero
Hard, brittle, and heat-sensitive substrates — glass, silicon, SiC, GaN, sapphire, ceramics — micromachined with femtosecond pulses where a saw chips and a nanosecond laser cracks.
Femtosecond NIR (1030 nm), green (515 nm), or UV (343 nm), chosen for the substrate's absorption and the feature's edge requirement; UV for polymer layers
Pulse regime
Femtosecond, single-pulse and burst-mode; picosecond where throughput outweighs edge quality
Polymers and packaging marked in the lab — PP, PE, HDPE, PET and compostable films as bottles, caps, films, blisters and cartons. No ink, label or consumable.
PP · PE · HDPE · PET · compostable film · blister pack · bottle marking · cap marking
Wavelengths
CO₂ 10.6 µm and 9.4 µm for surface-contrast marks on most polymers; green 532 nm for PET, HDPE and PP with no additive; UV 355 nm and NIR 1064 nm where a pigment or additive responds
Pulse regime
Modulated CO₂ for surface marks; picosecond green for additive-free marks on PET, HDPE and PP; nanosecond UV or NIR for color-change and additive-activated marks
Paper-, cloth-, and film-backed abrasives. Discs, sheets, and belts cut, perforated for dust extraction, and kiss-cut on the liner, with no die for the grain to wear out.
The material picks the laser, not the other way round
A LaserSharp® module is built around the source the material absorbs. CO₂ at 9.4, 10.2 or 10.6 µm covers films, board and most polymers. NIR and green cover metal foils. Materials that are transparent to everything else call for a UV source. Ultrashort pulses are the other route: from an NIR, green or UV source, they make a transparent material absorb. Add and remove materials below to compare them across the whole spectrum LasX runs, from 355 nm to 10.6 µm. Every curve is computed from published optical constants, not from our own claims.
Materials on the chart — up to 6 at a time
Hover the chart (or use ← →) to read every plotted material at one wavelength; click to pin.
Gold lines are the laser wavelengths LasX runs; click a laser label to jump to it. Curves stop where the material is transparent for practical purposes — polymers below 1 cm⁻¹ (the datasets’ detection floor), glasses below 0.01 cm⁻¹ (penetration beyond 1 m).
Values at the laser wavelengths, and sources
Material
355 nm
532 nm
1064 nm
9.36 µm (9.4 µm laser line)
10.2 µm
10.6 µm
Source
PET (polyester)
—
—
—
558 cm⁻¹ 18 µm
471 cm⁻¹ 21 µm
199 cm⁻¹ 50 µm
Zhang et al. 2020 (Appl. Opt. 59; JQSRT 252) via refractiveindex.info, CC0 Clear, additive-free resin. Below 1 cm⁻¹ the data sit at the detection floor and are not drawn — the film is transparent there.
Polycarbonate
—
—
—
486 cm⁻¹ 21 µm
195 cm⁻¹ 51 µm
136 cm⁻¹ 73 µm
Zhang et al. 2020 (Appl. Opt. 59; JQSRT 252) via refractiveindex.info, CC0 Clear, additive-free resin. Below 1 cm⁻¹ the data sit at the detection floor and are not drawn — the film is transparent there.
Fused silica
—
—
—
27,517 cm⁻¹ 363 nm
530 cm⁻¹ 19 µm
253 cm⁻¹ 40 µm
Franta et al. 2016 (fused-silica plate) via refractiveindex.info, CC0
Water (moisture, tissue, hydrogels)
0.00086 cm⁻¹ 12 m
0.00043 cm⁻¹ 23 m
0.2 cm⁻¹ 6.4 cm
577 cm⁻¹ 17 µm
687 cm⁻¹ 15 µm
848 cm⁻¹ 12 µm
Segelstein 1981 / Hale & Querry 1973 via refractiveindex.info, CC0
Polypropylene (BOPP / CPP)
—
—
—
—
—
35 cm⁻¹ 290 µm
Coelho et al. 2004 (film); Kameyama et al. 2021 (sheet) Absorption peak near 10.2 µm (FTIR, Novanta 2021); measured at 10.6 µm; transparent through the visible and NIR.
— : outside the dataset, or below its detection floor (transparent for practical purposes). Non-metals: α = 4πk/λ; penetration depth 1/α is where 63 % of the beam has been absorbed. Metals: A = 1 − R at normal incidence. All optical constants from the refractiveindex.info database (public domain, CC0); literature points as cited. Full source list and verification notes: docs/charts in the site repository.
Wavelength decides where the energy lands. How long the pulse lasts decides what the material does with it before the heat can spread. That is why the same foil cuts clean under one source and burrs under another. The guide to pulse duration and material coupling →
Your material is not listed
That is the normal case. Flexible packaging structures are effectively unique to each converter. The database shows you what kind of data a trial produces. It is not there to answer your question in advance.
