Laser marking system

A laser energy microinscribing system, comprising:

• a semiconductor excited Q-switched solid state laser energy source;
• a cut gemstone mounting system, allowing optical access to a mounted workpiece;
• an optical system for focusing laser energy from the laser energy source onto a cut gemstone;
• a displaceable stage for moving said gemstone mounting system with respect to said optical system so that said focused laser energy is presented to desired positions on said gemstone, having a control input;
• an imaging system for viewing the gemstone from a plurality of vantage points;
• a rigid frame supporting said laser, said optical system and said stage in fixed relation, to resist differential movements of said laser, said optical system and said stage and increase immunity to vibrational misalignments;
• an input for receiving marking instructions;
• a processor for controlling said displaceable stage based on said marking instructions and said imaging system, to selectively generate a marking based on said instructions and a predetermined program;
• and
• a storage system, coupled to said imaging system, for electronically storing information relating to images of a plurality of workpieces.

A method of microinscribing a workpiece with laser energy from a pulse laser energy source, focused by an optical system on the workpiece, comprising the steps of:

• mounting a workpiece in a mounting system;
• directing the focused laser energy onto a desired portion of the workpiece;
• imaging the workpiece from a plurality of vantage points;
• receiving marking instructions as at least one input;
• controlling the directing of the focused laser energy based on the marking instructions and the imaging, to selectively generate a marking based on said instructions;
• and
• storing information relating to images of a plurality of workpieces.

A laser energy microinscribing system, comprising:

• a semiconductor excited Q-switched solid state laser energy source;
• a cut gemstone mounting system, allowing optical access to a mounted workpiece;
• an optical system for focusing laser energy from the laser energy source onto a cut gemstone;
• a displaceable stage for moving said gemstone mounting system with respect to said optical system so that said focused laser energy is presented to desired positions on said gemstone, having a control input;
• an imaging system for viewing the gemstone from a plurality of vantage points;
• and
• a rigid frame supporting said laser, said optical system and said stage in fixed relation, to resist differential movements of said laser, said optical system and said stage and increase immunity to vibrational misalignments.