Temporally profiled pulsed radiation of the Nd:YAG laser was applied to dri
lling and micromachining of ceramics, steel, and CVD diamond, demonstrating
one or two orders of magnitude enhancement of ablation rates compared to c
onventional pico- and nanosecond-pulsed ablation at the same energy density
. The developed laser system delivered combined pulses consisting of a pico
second pulse train followed by a nanosecond pulse train. The combination of
picosecond and nanosecond components within one laser shot turned out to b
e especially beneficial for high-aspect-ratio channel formation. Polarizati
on dependence of the ablated deep crater morphology was observed in AlN sam
ples. Waveguide radiation propagation in self-made deep channels as well as
the influence of high-temperature laser-produced plasma on this phenomena
are discussed.