Laser materials processing with ultra-short pulses allows very precise and high quality results with a minimum extent of the thermally affected zone. However, with increasing average laser power and repetition rates the so-called heat accumulation effect becomes a considerable issue. The following discussion presents a comprehensive analytical treatment of multi-pulse processing and reveals the basic mechanisms of heat accumulation and its consequence for the resulting processing quality. The theoretical findings can explain the experimental results achieved when drilling microholes in CrNi-steel and for cutting of CFRP. As a consequence of the presented considerations, an estimate for the maximum applicable average power for ultra-shorts pulsed laser materials processing for a given pulse repetition rate is derived. femtosecond laser-written waveguides with variable repetition rate," Opt. Express 13(12), 4708-4716 (2005). 13. R. R. Gattass, L. R. Cerami, and E. Mazur, "Micromachining of bulk glass with bursts of femtosecond laser pulses at variable repetition rates," Opt.

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A simplified analytical model is presented that predicts the depth progress during and the final hole depth obtained by laser percussion drilling in metals with ultrashort laser pulses. The model is based on the assumption that drilled microholes exhibit a conical shape and that the absorbed fluence linearly increases with the depth of the hole. The depth progress is calculated recursively based on the depth changes induced by the successive pulses. The experimental validation confirms the model and its assumptions for percussion drilling in stainless steel with picosecond pulses and different pulse energies.

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