High power excimer laser micromachining

Abstract

Today's excimer lasers are well-established UV laser sources for a wide variety of micromachining applications. The excimer's high pulse energy and average power at short UV wavelengths make them ideal for ablation of various materials, e. g., polyimide, PMMA, copper, and diamond. Excimer micromachining technology, driven by the ever-shrinking feature sizes of micro-mechanical and micro-electronic devices, is used for making semiconductor packaging microvias, ink jet nozzle arrays, and medical devices. High-power excimer laser systems are capable of processing large areas with resolution down to several microns without using wet chemical processes. For instance, drilling precise tapered holes and reel-to-reel manufacturing of disposable sensors have proven to be very cost-effective manufacturing techniques for volume production. Specifically, the new industrial excimer laser-the LAMBDA SX 315C-easily meets the high demands of cost-effective production. The stabilized output power of 315 watts at 300 Hz (308 nm) and its outstanding long-term stability make this laser ideal for high-duty-cycle, high-throughput micromachining. In this paper, high-power excimer laser technology, products, applications, and beam delivery systems will be discussed.