Projection ablation of glass-based single and arrayed microstructures using excimer laser

Ablation of single and arrayed microstructures using an excimer laser is studied. The single feature microstructures are fabricated for evaluating the ablation mechanism, threshold fluence, and associated material removing (ablation) rate. The morphology changes during ablation are investigated with the focus on the formation of the ablation defects, debris or recast. The possibility of removing these defects is also evaluated and demonstrated. The present study concentrates on the borosilicate glass, although ablation of polyimide and silicon are performed and discussed for comparison. Polyimide and silicon are the most popular polymer or semiconductor material used in the electronics industry. The arrayed microstructures are ablated to demonstrate the fact that, by repetition of a simple-patterned mask associated with synchronized laser pulses and substrate movement, arrayed and more complex structures can be cost-effectively manufactured. The potential applications of these arrayed microstructures are discussed and illustrated. A low-cost replication technique that uses the arrayed microstructure presently machined as the forming mold for making electroforming nickel microneedles is specifically presented. Finally, the potential areas of using excimer laser in micromachining of glass-based structures for future research are also briefly covered. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.