Multi-level relief structures in sol–gel and photoresist fabricated by laser ablation and analyzed with coherence probe microscopy

The demand in the field of microtechnology to create multi-level structures with sufficient resolution has been growing in recent years, particularly in micro-optics. Using the well-known laser ablation technique, the behaviour of different hybrid organic/inorganic homemade sol–gel materials and of a standard commercial photoresist are investigated with a KrF laser emitting at 248 nm with nanosecond pulses. The aim consists of rapidly transferring relief patterns at low cost. The experimental set-up and procedure combined with the versatile profilometry technique of coherence probe microscopy (CPM) for rapid analysis are presented; the fabrication issues are discussed and compared with ablation of quartz and polymers. The materials calibration curves, which demonstrate the achievement of the present work, are presented.