Researchers from Texas A&M University, KIMM, and UST published a technical paper titled “Self-Focusing Control for Depth-Precise Wafer Slicing of 4H-SiC in Femtosecond Laser Processing.” Abstract Excerpt:“Femtosecond laser slicing for 4H-SiC wafers offers a non-contact processing approach to produce thin layers with low defects, while strong optical nonlinearities obscure the relationship between the laser parameters and the resulting slicing quality. Here, we systematically investigate Kerr-induced self-focusing using a femtosecond laser in 4H-SiC slicing by combining experiments, a semi-empirical analytical model, and numerical ray optics simulations. We demonstrate that the interplay between pulse energy and processing depth governs the self-focusing behavior, which directly correlates with post-separation surface texture parameters and separation stress, thereby linking nonlinear beam propagation to slicing quality. “ “Self-Focusing Control for Depth-Precise Wafer Slicing of 4H-SiC in Femtosecond Laser Processing.”