Laser Materials Processing

Hai-Lung Tsai, Hai Xiao

Missouri University of Science and Technology
tsai@mst.edu , 573-341-4945

Laser Materials Processing 1

 Existing Laser Systems at MST

‰ A Femtosecond Laser System, Coherent, 800 nm, OPA (300~3000 nm),

1kHz, 1 W, LC-SLM, 5-axis motion stage, sponsored by AFRL, 2006
(~$600K).
‰ A Diode Pumped Solid State Nd-YAG UV Laser System, Coherent, 355
nm, Avia-X, Q-switch, 100 kHz, 10 W, 4-axis motion stage and galvo,
sponsored by NSF’s MRI, 2005 (~$360K).
‰ A Fiber Laser System, IPG, 1065 nm, CW, 100 W, 3-axis motion stages
and galvo, sponsored by NSF’s MRI, 2006 (~$70K).
‰ A CO2 Laser System, Convergent Arrow, 10.64 μm, 1.7 kW CW, 7.5 kW
pulsed, 4-axis motion stages, sponsored by ARO’s DURIP, 1998
(~$320K).
‰ A Nd-YAG Laser System, 1064 nm, Lee Laser, 40W, pulsed, Q-switch,
galvo, sponsored by ARO’s DURIP, 1998 (~$60K).

Laser Materials Processing 2

 Laser Materials Processes
‰ Conventional
¾ Drilling (metal/ceramics), welding, cutting, surface treating/modification,
texturing, marking, engraving, patterning, cleaning, rapid prototyping
(metal/ceramics), shock peening

‰ Micro/Nano fabrication
¾ Lab-on-a-chip, fiber sensors, 3D periodic patterns for display/LCD
¾ Micro/Nano 3D structures for manufacturing fuel cell screens, matrix for
ceramic metal composites, carbon nanotube mesh, bone grafts, etc
¾ Ultrafast laser micromachining of coronary stents to enhance drug coating
and endothelial cell growth
¾ Thin film fabrication and patterning of superconductive materials
for microelectronics

‰ Biomedical/Defense applications
¾ Multiphoton and spectral-lifetime imaging
¾ LIBS

Laser Materials Processing 3

 Laser Facilities at Missouri S&T

Clean Room Femtosecond Laser – Coherent

Femtosecond Laser Optics 5-Axis Motion Stage

Laser Materials Processing 4

 Laser Facilities at Missouri S&T

Optical Tweezers 3-D Microstructures

Nanosecond Laser – Coherent Nanosecond Laser Motion Stage

Laser Materials Processing 5

 State-of-the-Art Fs Laser System at MST
Wavelength : 800 nm Frequency
conversion CCD Monitor
Pulse Width : 120 fs
Repetition Rate: 1 kHz (300nm – λ/2 ND
3000nm) Wave Plate Filter ShutterMirror
Polarizer Lamp

Coherent Coherent
Legend OPerA

Dichroic mirror

Objective lens
(NA 0.3 -0.9)

Sample (glass,
Grating polymer, tissue……)
Lens LC-SLM

Computer Driver Five-axis Stage

Laser Materials Processing 6

 Uniqueness of Femtosecond Lasers
1 femtosecond 1 second
=
1 second 320 million years Car Bomb

• Long Distance, Standoff Detection and

Sensing
– Explosives, IEDs
– Chemical and biological (CB) threats
• Micro-/Nano-Scale Fabrication and (500μm)
Material Processing
– High quality (no heat-affected zone)
– High precision Fuel Injection

• Bio and Medical Applications

Nozzles (25μm)

– Bloodless surgery
– Cancer cells detection
• Communication and Measurement
– Undersea
– Outer space Cell and DNA

Laser Materials Processing 7

 Ultra High Precision Fabrications
Holes (113 mm) in Stainless Steel Structuring of Silicon

Structuring of Hard Metals Drilling of Injection Nozzles

Vergrösserung: 650x; Maßstab = 50 μm

Laser Materials Processing 8

Why Femtosecond Lasers?

Laser Materials Processing 9

Manipulation of Cells and Microbes

Laser Materials Processing 10

 Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

• LIBS: the Most Promising Technology for Standoff Detection

– Explosives, IEDs, Chem/Bio Threats, Environmental Monitoring
– Compared with Raman Spectroscopy, X-Ray Imaging, T-Hz Spectroscopy
Laser
• Current Major Issues
– Limited Standoff Distance
Spectrum
– Poor Accuracy (High False Rate) Car Bomb

– Low S/N Ratios 1000

H N
– Trial and Error O
N S O
750 C
(CH3)2SO N O N N
• Possible Solutions by Combining
intensity
H N
O
500
– Fs & ns Lasers P
CP Dimethyl methyl O
N

phosphonate N N ON
– Beam-Shaping Technology 250
H N O N Cl
– Pulse-Train Technology C Perchloroethylene N
O

N ON
0
200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
wavelength (nm)

Laser Materials Processing 11

 Miniaturized Fiber Inline Fabry-Perot Interferometer
L

I1 I2 Core

Cladding

⎛ 4π L ⎞
I = I1 + I 2 + 2 I1 I 2 cos ⎜ + ϕ0 ⎟
⎝ λ ⎠ Top view

⎛ 4π L ⎞ ⎛ 4π L ⎞
⎜ + ϕ0 ⎟ − ⎜ + ϕ 0 ⎟ = 2π
⎝ λ1 ⎠ ⎝ λ2 ⎠
Schematic of the system

30.88
30.87
30.86 Interference spectrum
Cavity Length (μm)

30.85
30.84
30.83 10 -10

9 Cross section

Reflection (dB)
30.82 -16

30.81
Slope = 8
0.074pm/°C
-22
7
Reflection (%)

30.80
-28

30.79 6 1475 1505 1535 1565

W avelength (nm)
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 5
4 λ1 = λ2 =
Temperature (°C)
1489.1n 1525.1n
3 m m
‰ The fiber FP device successfully survived at high 2
1
temperatures up to 1100°C
0
‰ The temperature sensitivity of this particular FP 1475 1495 1515 1535 1555 1575
device was estimated to be 0.074 pm/°C based on the Wavelength (nm)
linear fit of the measurement data

Laser Materials Processing 12

Miniaturized fiber inline Fabry-Perot interferometer for highly
sensitive refractive index measurement

Simulated spectrum

The temperature dependence

Interference spectra of the FPI device in
air, methanol, acetone and isopropanol.
Measured refractive index of deionized
water as a function of temperature.
of the device was small and
contributed only about 0.9%
to the total refractive index
variation over the entire
temperature range.

Laser Materials Processing 13

 Ultrasensitive, Ultracompact Sensors

Micro-resonator MOLECULAR SIEVE

• Explosives (IEDs)
Fiber Core
• Chemical Agents
Optical Fiber
• Biological Threats

• Toxic Industrial
125μm
Core
Chemicals and
Materials
Cladding
(TIC/TIM)

-30

-35
Power (dBm)

-40

-45
Explosive
-50 (TNT)
Detection
-55
100 200 300 400 500
Time (seconds)

Laser Materials Processing 14

 3D Nano/Micro Structures Using Multiple Lasers

Three Novel Technologies:

1. Optical Tweezers (Laser 1):
for Grabbing, Controlling, and Manipulating
Micro/Nano Objects

2. Near Field Optical Resonance (Laser 2):

for Nano Welding

3. Spatial Light Modulator (Multiple

Laser Beams): for 3D Multi-Locations
Fabrications

Nano-welding

Assembly
Grabbing Micro/Nano 3D structure

Laser Materials Processing 15

Fabrication of Microstructures for LCD Display Panels

Brightness Enhancement Films (BEF)

¾ Microscale periodic structures
¾ Millions of high-precision prisms, cones, grooves or disks

Laser Materials Processing 16

 One-Step Fabrication of 3D Lab-on-a-Chip

Micro-chemical reactor Micro-fluidic dye laser Micro-optical lens

Micromirrors

300μm 500μm 500μm

Buried microchamber

Micro-waveguide circuit Micro-fluidic network

Freely mobile microglass
valve

500μm
 Diamond Thin Film Coating in Open Air

Diamond coating at room temperature and in open air at a speed

thousands of times faster than chemical vapor deposition

Laser Materials Processing 18

 Beam Technologies
Beam Shaping Technology Pulse Train Technology
(Spatial Domain) (Temporal Domain)

Laser Materials Processing 19

Laser Materials Processing 20