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Digital micromirror devices for laser-based manufacturing on the micro-scale

Digital micromirror devices for laser-based manufacturing on the micro-scale
Digital micromirror devices for laser-based manufacturing on the micro-scale
Digital micromirror devices (DMD), such as the DLP range developed by Texas Instruments, have found many applications in scientific research. Here, we show how a DMD can be used as a spatial light modulator for an 800nm wavelength, femtosecond laser system, to enable image-projection-based laser machining, for both additive and subtractive manufacturing. Laser pulses incident on the DMD were spatially shaped by the DMD pattern and demagnified, via a microscope objective, to a size of ~30µm by 30µm onto a target sample, hence providing a ~1000 increase in laser fluence compared to that on the DMD surface. Typically 1-10J/cm2 was achieved on the target sample, which enabled ablative patterning of a range of materials ranging from thin-film semiconductors to bulk diamond. As only a single laser pulse was required to machine an entire pattern, through the use of automated stages, stitched cm2-sized regions, with diffraction-limited resolution, were machined on a time scale of minutes. The ability to synchronise the DMD updating with the arrival time of the laser pulses enabled each laser pulse to be individually spatially shaped providing significant flexibility to machine arbitrary cm2 structures. We will present examples of both subtractive (laser-ablation) and additive (photo-polymerisation and laser-induced-forward-transfer) manufacturing, show how this approach can fabricate structures smaller than 1/10th of the laser wavelength, and demonstrate a technique that modifies a surface to produce complex multi-coloured patterns (achieved via the ablation of micron-sized variable-period-gratings) that may have applications in the security and marking industries.
Mills, B.
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Heath, D.J.
d53c269d-90d2-41e6-aa63-a03f8f014d21
Feinäugle, M.
5b631cb4-197f-49db-ab27-352cad7ff656
Eason, R.W.
e38684c3-d18c-41b9-a4aa-def67283b020
Mills, B.
05f1886e-96ef-420f-b856-4115f4ab36d0
Heath, D.J.
d53c269d-90d2-41e6-aa63-a03f8f014d21
Feinäugle, M.
5b631cb4-197f-49db-ab27-352cad7ff656
Eason, R.W.
e38684c3-d18c-41b9-a4aa-def67283b020

Mills, B., Heath, D.J., Feinäugle, M. and Eason, R.W. (2015) Digital micromirror devices for laser-based manufacturing on the micro-scale. SPIE Photonics West '15, , San Francisco, United States. 07 - 12 Feb 2015.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Digital micromirror devices (DMD), such as the DLP range developed by Texas Instruments, have found many applications in scientific research. Here, we show how a DMD can be used as a spatial light modulator for an 800nm wavelength, femtosecond laser system, to enable image-projection-based laser machining, for both additive and subtractive manufacturing. Laser pulses incident on the DMD were spatially shaped by the DMD pattern and demagnified, via a microscope objective, to a size of ~30µm by 30µm onto a target sample, hence providing a ~1000 increase in laser fluence compared to that on the DMD surface. Typically 1-10J/cm2 was achieved on the target sample, which enabled ablative patterning of a range of materials ranging from thin-film semiconductors to bulk diamond. As only a single laser pulse was required to machine an entire pattern, through the use of automated stages, stitched cm2-sized regions, with diffraction-limited resolution, were machined on a time scale of minutes. The ability to synchronise the DMD updating with the arrival time of the laser pulses enabled each laser pulse to be individually spatially shaped providing significant flexibility to machine arbitrary cm2 structures. We will present examples of both subtractive (laser-ablation) and additive (photo-polymerisation and laser-induced-forward-transfer) manufacturing, show how this approach can fabricate structures smaller than 1/10th of the laser wavelength, and demonstrate a technique that modifies a surface to produce complex multi-coloured patterns (achieved via the ablation of micron-sized variable-period-gratings) that may have applications in the security and marking industries.

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More information

Published date: February 2015
Venue - Dates: SPIE Photonics West '15, , San Francisco, United States, 2015-02-07 - 2015-02-12
Organisations: Optoelectronics Research Centre

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 379294
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/379294
PURE UUID: a9209035-afe6-4dc5-b6bd-f44638878909
ORCID for B. Mills: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1784-1012
ORCID for R.W. Eason: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9704-2204

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 16 Jul 2015 16:08
Last modified: 12 Dec 2021 03:36

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Contributors

Author: B. Mills ORCID iD
Author: D.J. Heath
Author: M. Feinäugle
Author: R.W. Eason ORCID iD

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