Tag Archives: micromachining

Laser Manufacturing

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Learn, Network & Explore the Possibilities

By Betsy Marone

In its fifth year, Laser Institute of America’s Lasers for Manufacturing Event® (LME®) will continue its tradition of offering attendees a unique and comprehensive two-day look into the laser industry. Taking place at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, GA, April 26-27, LME will serve as a one-stop shop for companies looking to integrate laser technology into their production. Since its inception, LME has filled a void in the laser industry by providing one event where attendees can see the latest advances in laser technology, network with elite members of the laser industry, discover solutions to both current and future manufacturing needs, and gain a better understanding of laser basics in free education sessions. Continue reading →

Micromachining of Thin CFRP with UV-PS Laser Pulses

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By: Masayuki Fujita and George Okada

It is well known that Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) has attractive features like high-durability, high-strength and light-weight. These features have been stimulating the CFRP to be applied for a wide variety of applications. For example, by using the CFRP as a body material of aircrafts and automobiles, higher fuel efficiency and hence lower carbon emissions in transportations has been realized. Also, in sports and recreation, items such as fishing rods, golf club shafts and tennis rackets heavily incorporate CFRP.

There are two types of carbon fibers (CFs), PAN-type and Pitch-type (http://www.carbonfiber.gr.jp/english/ material/type.html). The PAN-type CF, which is almost amorphous carbon, has high tensile strength and high elastic modulus and is commonly applied for structural material composites. On the other hand, the Pitch-type CF, which is almost graphite, has ultra-high elastic modulus and is adopted in high stiffness components such as robot arms to handle large glass panels. Anisotropic Pitch-type CF has very high thermal conductivity (200-800W/mK), which is comparable to or higher than copper. Furthermore, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the Pitch-type CFRP is extremely low (-1.3×10-6℃), which is advantageous to dimensional stability in high temperature environments.

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High Density Through Glass Vias for Advanced Chip Packaging

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By Ralph Delmdahl, Rainer Pätzel, Rolf Senczuk and Jan Brune

Glass is a promising material from which advanced interposers for high density electrical interconnects for 2.5D and 3D chip packaging can be produced. The supply of ultra-thin glass wafers with thicknesses of 100 µm and below shows attractive cost and superior high frequency performance relative to polished thin wafers made of silicon. As thin glass is extremely brittle, micromachining to create through glass vias is particularly challenging and laser processing using deep UV excimer lasers at a wavelength of 193 nm and ultra-short pulse laser provide a viable solution. Continue reading →

Femtosecond Laser 3D Micromachining for Fabricating Nanoaquariums: Exploring the Functions of Aquatic Microorganisms

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By: Koji Sugioka, Yasutaka Hanada, Katsumi Midorikawa, Ikuko Shihira Ishikawa, Hiroyuki Kawano, Atsushi Miyawaki

RIKEN – Advanced Science Institute, Brain Science Institute

It is becoming increasingly important to observe and analyze the dynamics and functions of microorganisms both for fundamental investigations (such as elucidating the functions of biological cells) and for applications to biomicro systems and medicine. We used femtosecond (fs) laser 3D micromachining to fabricate microfluidic chips (which we term nanoaquariums) for observing microorganisms. Nanoaquariums enable us to drastically reduce the observation time relative to that for the conventional observation method using Petri dishes. Furthermore, they can be used to perform highly functional analysis, which biologists have long desired to realize. We have developed a technique for fabricating nanoaquariums that involves directly forming 3D hollow microstructures with smooth internal surfaces in photostructurable glass by fs laser direct writing followed by annealing and wet etching in dilute hydrofluoric acid (see Fig. 1). This technique permits rapid prototyping of 3D microfluidic systems with different structures, which is greatly desired by biologists for observing different microorganisms. Furthermore, functional microelements such as micromechanical elements and micro optical elements can be easily integrated into the microfluidic structure, permitting more functional observation and analysis to be performed.

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ICALEO 2009 – Accepting the Challenge

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Held in the Hilton located in the Walt Disney World® Resort, the 28th International Congress on Applications of Lasers and Electro-Optics (ICALEO®) once again brought together many of the best and brightest of laser and optics professionals and scientists to network and review the state-of-the-art in laser materials processing and predict where the future will lead. For four full days, plus the pre-conference Welcome Celebration held poolside at the Hilton Hotel, ICALEO 2009 provided a platform for the current issues on the forefront of laser materials processing.

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