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Abstract

An exemplary method of drilling a hole through an article comprises the steps of directing a pulsed laser beam at a first side of the article, wherein a pulse of the pulsed laser beam has an energy of less than or equal to 0.1 joule and a full width half maximum pulse width of less than or equal to 500 nanoseconds, detecting with a detector whether the hole being drilled has extended through to a second side of the article, and interrupting drilling after the hole has extended through to the second side of the article. The method may be carried out with an exemplary drilling apparatus which includes an Nd:YAG laser, a camera to detect when the laser beam has broken through, and a shutter to interrupt drilling before a subsequent pulse begins. Because the energy of each pulse is relatively small, the damage caused by the laser beam to a wall behind the drilled hole is insignificant.

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First Claim