Pulsed laser method for machining a diamond

A method of machining a diamond by means of a pulsed laser comprising:

• placing the diamond in a receptacle containing a transparent liquid having a liquid level at least 100 microns above a surface of the diamond, the transparent liquid containing a surfactant additive;
• activating a laser source and applying a laser beam having pulses of duration at most equal to one microsecond at a repetition frequency of at most 5 kHz to the surface of the diamond, the laser beam having a wavelength selected to minimize absorption by the transparent liquid before reaching the surface of the diamond, a power selected to exceed an ablation threshold of the diamond in the transparent liquid, and a polarization ranging from elliptical to circular,
• actuating relative scanning between the diamond and the laser source, transversely to the laser beam and axially depthwise, with an amplitude and orientations that are determined by a shape of the machining of the diamond, thereby obtaining a transparent machined surface free of black graphite,
• wherein the surfactant additive exhibits transparency and an absence of foaming power so as to minimally disturb a passage of the laser beam in the transparent liquid, the surfactant additive being present in an amount sufficient for a detergent effect to be obtained without exceeding a threshold where the transparency is reduced.