Diffractive laser holes extend the shelf life of packaged products

It is reported that the German laser and optoelectronics industry component and service manufacturer LASER COMPONENTS recently said that the laser generated micropores help to maintain the freshness of the packaged products. These holes are constructed using a diffractive optical element (DOE); the diffractive optical element is an optical device that converts a single laser beam into multiple small beams in a given pattern to meet specific application requirements.
A diffractive optical element (DOE) allows the laser beam to split, superimpose or form almost any shape. The food industry is currently using diffractive optical elements (DOE) for laser perforation of fruit or vegetable packaging. In this way, the packaged food can still be "breathed" normally, which helps to prolong its storage life. Depending on the type of food and material, such laser micropores are between 50 and 300 microns in diameter.
Under these dimensional requirements, only the laser can achieve the desired perforation uniformity. Using multi-point DOEs in this application, only one optical component is needed to generate the required number of identical laser beams. At the same time, the energy of all the original beams can be retained.
At the same time, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is used to extend the storage time of fresh food. This package contains no air and contains one or more gases, primarily nitrogen or carbon dioxide. Laser micropores enable the necessary exchange of gases while maintaining the protective atmosphere required for packaging.