Excimer laser process technology for micro-machining

Excimer laser based technology has been developed for micromachining/fabrication of solid surfaces with structure in micron order. This paper describes the physical phenomenon which governs the laser ablation mechanism and how this is used for controlled removal of polymers, ceramics and metals in creating a patterned structure. Laser fabricated micron order polyimide gear will be shown as an example. In processing of hard materials such as glass and ceramics mainly silicon nitride, microstructures were created and ablation rate as a function of the number of pulses are investigated. Microprocessing of superconducting thin film with resolution of below 10 μm is also reported