Ablation of wide band-gap materials by multi-wavelength irradiation using a VUV Raman laser

Ablation of wide band-gap materials such as crystal quartz, sapphire, and lithium niobate by a vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) Raman laser is demonstrated. Simultaneous irradiation of multi-wavelength beams emitted from the VUV Raman laser realizes high-quality ablation with smooth surface, little thermal influence, and little deposition of debris for all materials. The basic mechanism of high-quality ablation of each material is discussed on the basis of band-gap and lattice energy.