The ability to remove material with high spatial resolution and in a tool-less fashion is a prerogative of machining by laser direct writing. Several applications are performed using laser ablation such as nano-materials production, realization of MEMS components, and deposition of thin dielectrics films.  Depending on the laser employed, customers using the mFAB-L will be able to cut, drill, and remove material from substrates as diverse as soft biological tissues and hard dielectrics. The images below show an example of micromachining by ablation of borosilicate glass using Spectra-Physics Spirit laser.

Texturing surfaces with micro- and nano-structures by laser direct writing has emerged in the last fifteen years as an excellent and efficient manufacturing method for delivering materials with significant improvements in wettability and wear resistance. Moreover, optical properties of materials can be tuned by introducing a rationally designed surface roughness. Finding the right experimental conditions to create the desired surface effect can be time consuming. When using the mFAB-L with Spectra-Physics Spirit laser, the user will have easy access to all the experimental parameters required for the realization of these structures. An example of surface structuring is shown where conical shaped microstructures were obtained in polypropylene by laser direct writing, rendering the laser written surface hydrophobic.

Deposition of thin films is an essential step in the manufacturing of several devices from solar cells to flat screen displays. For the realization of these devices, another key process is the selective removal of thin films with good spatial control. Thin film laser scribing is the best choice when high precision and contamination control are required. The uFAB-L is an attractive solution for thin film scribing since it delivers a perfect combination of accuracy with writing speed. An example of thin film scribing is shown in the following images where a 200 nm thick layer of ITO was selectively removed from a polyethylene terephthalate.

The µFAB-L workstation has been featured in the following technical articles.

Photonics.com

• Two-Photon Polymerization: Additive Manufacturing From the Inside Out

• Laser Microfabrication Techniques Move Rapid Prototyping to the Mainstream

Application Focus

• Fabrication of superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces for biomicrofluidics applications
• Femtosecond Laser Irradiation and Chemical Etching (FLICE); Waveguide Writing