Laser-induced channels in multi-layer materials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9873167-B1
Application number	US-201414580157-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Dec 22, 2014
Priority date	Dec 20, 2013
Publication date	Jan 23, 2018
Grant date	Jan 23, 2018

Abstract

A laser system comprising a laser that produces a pulsed laser beam is configured to form a laser-induced channel in a multi-layer substrate including first and second material layers. The material layers may have different refractive indices. The laser-induced channel includes a uniform distribution of self-focus damage volumes through at least a portion of the thickness of one or both of the material layers. One of the material layers may be partially transparent or non-transparent. An optical assembly of the laser system can be configured to produce uniformly distributed self-focus damage volumes at an effective focal region corresponding to the substrate thickness. The distribution of damage volumes can be tailored to include areas or peaks of high damage volume density where it is desired to ablate material.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of using a laser system comprising a laser that produces a pulsed laser beam, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a multi-layer substrate comprising a first material layer that is at least partially transparent to the laser beam and a second material layer stacked together with the first material layer;
directing the pulsed laser beam toward the multi-layer substrate such that the laser beam passes through at least a portion of both of said material layers; and
forming a laser-induced channel that extends into the first material layer, the laser-induced channel comprising a uniform distribution of self-focus damage volumes.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second material layer is at least partially transparent to the laser beam and the laser-induced channel extends into both of said material layers.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the laser-induced channel extends substantially through the thickness of both of said material layers.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second material layer is a coating layer that is removed by the laser beam at the location of the laser-induced channel.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second material layer is a coating layer, and the laser beam does not remove the coating layer.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multi-layer substrate comprises a laminating layer between the first and second material layers, and the laser-induced channel extends into the second material layer.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the laminating layer is removed by the laser beam at the location of the laser-induced channel.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the laminating layer is at least partially transparent to the laser beam and the laser beam forms a self-focus damage volume at the laminating layer so that the laser-induced channels extends into all three of said layers.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first material layer has an index of refraction that is different from an index of refraction of the second material layer, and the uniform distribution of damage volumes extends into both of said material layers.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the uniform distribution of damage volumes extends through the full thickness of both of said material layers.

Assignees

• Gentex Corp

Inventors

• Geerlings Kurtis L
• Bareman Donald L
• Tonar William L

Classifications

• B23K26/4095

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B23K26/367

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B23K26/009

  using a non-absorbing, e.g. transparent, reflective or refractive, layer on the workpiece (using a mask on the workpiece B23K26/0661) · CPC title

• B23K26/006 Primary

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B23K26/53 Primary

  for modifying or reforming the material inside the workpiece, e.g. for producing break initiation cracks · CPC title