Not necessarily. If it's a femtosecond pulse laser, the instantaneous power is extremely high and creates a sufficiently intense field, but the time-average pow

Not necessarily. If it's a femtosecond pulse laser, the instantaneous power is extremely high and creates a sufficiently intense field, but the time-average power is low enough that it wouldn't create much heat away from the focus. Source: worked in a femtosecond laser lab