Methodof and apparatus for generating a laser pulse by controlling a modulator

摘要

A method of and apparatus for generating a laser pulse of a desired energy and micro-machining a substrate (9) using the laser pulse. A beam of light is provided from a laser source (1). The beam is directed via a modulator (3) to produce an output laser pulse with a portion of the laser pulse being used to determine the energy of the laser pulse. The modulator (3) is controlled so as to switch off the output laser pulse when the determined energy of the output laser pulse reaches a threshold value. The output laser pulse is steered to a substrate (9) for micro-machining.