The use of burst mode in femtosecond and picosecond pulsed laser cutting of freestanding pure lithium metal anodes

Cutting is a critical step in the manufacturing of lithium metal anodes. Previous studies have investigated laser cutting of lithium metal anodes using nanosecond (ns) and picosecond (ps) pulsed lasers, as well as continuous-wave (CW) laser sources. In this work, the laser cutting of pure lithium metal anodes is experimentally evaluated using two ultrashort-pulsed lasers operating with picosecond and femtosecond (fs) pulse durations with burst mode capability. The burst mode emission is investigated to assess the influence of temporal pulse control on the cutting process on the different process regimes. At intermediate speeds, intermittent cuts and humping are observed, whereas at low speeds, successful cuts are obtained. The results showed the importance of the correct regulation of the number of pulses in a single burst with the fixed average power to achieve complete and clean cuts. The two laser systems were tested with scan speed of up to 7.0 m/s achieving complete cuts, highlighting the potential of ultrashort-pulse processing and burst mode operation for industrial lithium anode manufacturing.