Laser defined recesses in transparent laminate substrates

A method of forming recesses in a glass laminate, the method comprising:

• irradiating a portion of a first clad layer of a glass laminate with a pulsed laser beam, the glass laminate comprising the first clad layer having a first clad layer thickness and a first clad layer external surface and a core layer having a core layer thickness, the irradiating producing an irradiated portion of the first clad layer and a non-irradiated portion of the first clad layer;
• and
• etching the first clad layer with an etchant that selectively etches the irradiated portion of the first clad layer relative to the non-irradiated portion of the first clad layer and selectively etches the irradiated portion of the first clad layer relative to the core layer,
• wherein irradiating with a pulsed laser beam is one of:
• (1) irradiating with a focused pulsed laser beam producing damage or other physical or chemical alteration in the first clad layer to a depth not more than the first clad layer thickness and within 0.1 to 20 μm distance from the core layer, and
• (2) irradiating with a quasi-non-diffracting beam having a beam path and a beam intensity along a beam path in a direction of beam propagation in the first clad layer and the core layer which intensity remains within a range of from 40 to 100 percent of maximum in the first clad layer other than within a distance from the core layer in the range of from 0 to 50 μm, and remains to within a range of from 40 to 0.1 percent of maximum (low intensity portion) within the core layer.