5. Conclusion

After a relatively long start-up period since the 2000s, numerous indications (notably at international trade fairs) show that ultra-shrink technologies are now firmly established in the industrial world.

The technological aptitude of femtosecond lasers is well established. The challenge, therefore, is clearly to demonstrate this technology's ability to access the market. As long as consumer production markets are not targeted, femtosecond technology remains a fine tool for well-equipped technical centers. The development of efficient and economically competitive processes requires more than technical expertise. In France, for example, industrial funding is reluctant to take the risk of developing the manufacture of innovative products. Femtosecond technology may appear too expensive, because of the laser source itself, to imagine investing in process development...