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Abstract This study examines burst laser-induced pitting (BLIP), an understudied surface modification phenomenon driven by ultrafast laser bursts with sub-picosecond to picosecond inter-pulse delays. Through SEM and AFM analysis, we characterize BLIP as sub-micron pits with polarizationdependent oval shapes, alongside high-fluence melting zones and localized ripple-like structures. Unlike conventional LIPSS, BLIP demonstrates exceptional energy coupling efficiency, evidenced by 10× greater damage areas and a steeper fluence-scaling expansion rate than LIPSS, attributed to transient carrier-mediated processes. Pit density decays exponentially with delay (τ ≈ 6.6-8.9 ps), matching the timescale of self-trapped exciton (STE) relaxation, while spatial statistics reveal a delay-driven transition from field-guided ordering (1-5 ps) to randomized distributions (>10 ps). The resonant-like angular distributions and delay-dependent ellipticity reduction indicate competing mechanisms: optical field enhancement dominates at short delays, while energy dissipation and structure disordering prevail at longer delays. Simulation of nanoplasma excitation reveals near-field optical field enhancements responsible for the ellipticity and ripple-like structures. Beyond their fundamental significance, these BLIP nanostructures offer practical functionalities, including use as anti-reflection coatings and hydrophobic surfaces. These findings establish BLIP as a new paradigm in ultrafast laser-material interactions, where burst parameters selectively activate defect-mediated or field-driven modification pathways in dielectrics. 

A mathematical model is derived to predict the maximum speed of a focused laser beam in the laser cutting of thin materials. This model contains only two material parameters and is used to obtain an explicit relationship between the cutting speed and laser parameters. The model shows that there exists an optimal focal spot radius with which cutting speed is maximized for a given laser power. We compare the modeling results with experiments and find a good agreement after correcting laser fluence. This work is useful for the practical application of lasers in processing thin materials such as sheets and panels.