Laser material processing system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A laser material processing system comprising:
- a laser operable to emit a femtosecond or picosecond laser beam pulse;
a shaper operable to shape the pulse;
an optic member located in the path of the pulse to broaden the bandwidth of the pulse;
a programmable controller connected to the shaper;
a detector connected to the controller; and
a workpiece micromachined by the pulse, the workpiece including at least one of;
silicon or a dielectric material;
the controller receiving pulse characteristic signals detected by the detector to optimize laser pulse characteristics for the micromachining of the workpiece;
wherein the laser pulse characteristics are optimized based at least in part on the signals which are laser induced breakdown spectroscopy signals; and
wherein the detector detects emissions from the workpiece as it is being micromachined.
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Abstract
A laser material processing system and method are provided. A further aspect of the present invention employs a laser for micromachining. In another aspect of the present invention, the system uses a hollow waveguide. In another aspect of the present invention, a laser beam pulse is given broad bandwidth for workpiece modification.
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. A laser material processing system comprising:
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a laser operable to emit a femtosecond or picosecond laser beam pulse; a shaper operable to shape the pulse; an optic member located in the path of the pulse to broaden the bandwidth of the pulse; a programmable controller connected to the shaper; a detector connected to the controller; and a workpiece micromachined by the pulse, the workpiece including at least one of;
silicon or a dielectric material;the controller receiving pulse characteristic signals detected by the detector to optimize laser pulse characteristics for the micromachining of the workpiece; wherein the laser pulse characteristics are optimized based at least in part on the signals which are laser induced breakdown spectroscopy signals; and wherein the detector detects emissions from the workpiece as it is being micromachined. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A laser material processing system comprising:
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a laser operable to emit a laser beam pulse having a femtosecond or picosecond duration; a shaper operable to shape the pulse; a waveguide located in the path of the pulse to broaden the bandwidth of the pulse; a programmable controller connected to the shaper; a laser pulse detector connected to the controller; the controller operably receiving a signal from the detector indicative of distortion of the laser pulse and causing the shaper to vary a characteristic of subsequent pulses passing through the shaper to correct the distortion; and a surface of a workpiece operably creating second harmonic emission of the laser pulse which is detected by the detector to monitor the laser performance. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A laser material processing system comprising:
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a laser operable to emit a laser beam pulse having a picosecond or faster duration; a shaper operable to shape the pulse; a waveguide located in the path of the pulse to broaden the bandwidth of the pulse; and a workpiece micromachined by the pulse; a programmable controller connected to the shaper; a detector connected to the controller; wherein a surface of the workpiece creates second harmonic emission of the laser pulse which is detected by the detector to characterize the laser pulses, such that a SHG crystal is not employed. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of material processing, the method comprising:
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(a) emitting at least one laser pulse having a duration of 10 picoseconds or less; (b) automatically correcting spectral phase distortions in the at least one pulse using computer calculations based on essentially a real-time sensed input; (c) broadening a bandwidth of the at least one pulse to about 10-200 nm; (d) micromachining a workpiece with the at least one pulse; (e) automatically changing a characteristic of a subsequent laser pulse, with the assistance of the bandwidth broadening, during the micromachining of the same workpiece; and (f) creating second harmonic emission of the laser pulse by a surface of the workpiece. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A laser material processing system comprising:
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a picosecond laser operable to emit at least one laser beam pulse having a duration of 10 picoseconds or less; a shaper operable to shape the pulse; an optic member broadening the bandwidth of the at least one pulse; a programmable controller connected to the shaper; a laser pulse detector connected to the controller; the controller operably receiving a signal from the detector indicative of distortion of the at least one laser pulse and causing the shaper to vary a characteristic of a subsequent pulse passing through the shaper to correct distortion therein; a workpiece ablated by the at least one pulse, the workpiece including at least one of;
a silicon, dielectric or a metallic material, and the broadening of the pulse bandwidth allowing for controlled duration change of the at least one pulse during the ablation; anda surface of the workpiece creating second harmonic emission of the laser pulse which is detected by the detector, such that a SHG crystal is not employed. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A laser material processing system comprising:
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a laser operable to emit a laser beam pulse; a shaper operable to shape the pulse; a waveguide broadening the bandwidth of the pulse; a programmable controller connected to the shaper; a laser pulse detector connected to the controller; the controller operably receiving a signal from the detector indicative of distortion of the laser pulse and causing the shaper to vary a characteristic of a subsequent pulse passing through the shaper to correct distortion therein; and a workpiece ablated by the pulse, the pulse having a duration less than 500 femtoseconds at the workpiece; and a surface of the workpiece operably creating second harmonic emission of the laser pulse which is detected by the detector to monitor the laser performance. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55)
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Specification