Precision drilling of fused silica with 157-nm excimer laser radiation

Thorsten Temme; Andreas Ostendorf; Christian Kulik; Klaus Meyer

doi:10.1117/12.479557

17 October 2003 Precision drilling of fused silica with 157-nm excimer laser radiation

Thorsten Temme, Andreas Ostendorf, Christian Kulik, Klaus Meyer

Proceedings Volume 4977, Photon Processing in Microelectronics and Photonics II; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.479557
Event: High-Power Lasers and Applications, 2003, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

μFor drilling fused silica, mechanical techniques like with diamond drills, ultrasonic machining, sand blasting or water jet machining are used. Also chemical techniques like laser assisted wet etching or thermal drilling with CO₂-lasers are established. As an extension of these technologies, the drilling of micro-holes in fused silica with VUV laser radiation is presented here. The high absorption of the 157 nm radiation emitted by the F₂ excimer laser and the short pulse duration lead to a material ablation with minimised impact on the surrounding material. Contrary to CO₂-laser drilling, a molten and solidified phase around the bore can thus be avoided. The high photon energy of 7.9 eV requires either high purity nitrogen flushing or operation in vacuum, which also effects the processing results. Depending on the required precision, the laser can be used for percussion drilling as well as for excimer laser trepanning, by applying rotating masks. Rotating masks are especially used for high aspect ratio drilling with well defined edges and minimised debris. The technology is suitable particularly for holes with a diameter below 200 μm down to some microns in substrates with less than 200 μm thickness, that can not be achieved with mechanical methods. Drilling times in 200 μm fused silica substrates are in the range of ten seconds, which is sufficient to compete with conventional methods while providing similar or even better accuracy.

Citation Download Citation

Thorsten Temme, Andreas Ostendorf, Christian Kulik, and Klaus Meyer "Precision drilling of fused silica with 157-nm excimer laser radiation", Proc. SPIE 4977, Photon Processing in Microelectronics and Photonics II, (17 October 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.479557

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