雷射因為具有良好的聚焦特性，被用作金屬加工已有50多年的歷史，自從1967年位於英國Cambridge的Welding Institute 首次用300W的二氧化碳雷射透過氧氣的輔助切割一塊1mm厚的鋼板以來，高加工效率的雷射光源一直是金屬加工產業所追尋的目標。儘管CO₂雷射的電光轉換效率低、波長並非最佳，但在1980年代以前是最佳的選擇，而CO₂雷射的功率在初期進展相當快，10多年內就被推展到千瓦(KW)等級，有效縮短加工時間。

Due to good focusing characteristics, lasers have been used for metal processing for more than 50 years. Since 1967, the Welding Institute in Cambridge, England used a 300W carbon dioxide laser to cut a 1mm thick steel plate for the first time. The processing efficiency of laser light source has always been the goal pursued by the metal processing industry. Although the electro-optical conversion efficiency of CO₂ lasers is low and the wavelength is not the best, it was the best choice before the 1980s. The power of CO₂ lasers developed quite rapidly in the early stage, and was extended to the kilowatt (KW) level in more than 10 years, which effectively shorten the processing time.