Advanced Techniques for Ultrafast Laser Nano/Micro Patterning

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "E:Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 April 2021) | Viewed by 23971

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Hubert Curien Laboratory, Jean Monnet University, 18 Rue Professeur Benoît Lauras, 42100 Saint-Etienne, France
Interests: ultrafast laser surface machining; spatial beam shaping; ultrafast laser bulk machining; temporal pulse shaping
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Hubert Curien Laboratory, Jean Monnet University, 18 Rue Professeur Benoît Lauras, 42100 Saint-Etienne, France
Interests: surface functionalization; laser induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS); lasers for biomimetics; surface characterization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ultrafast lasers are becoming a powerful tool for surface and bulk processing at the micro- and nanometric realms. The recent developments of ultrashort laser sources towards higher-power, higher-repetition rates, enhanced robustness with reduced costs make ultrafast laser processing an enabling technology for a vast variety of applications where the low onset of thermal side effects associated with these ultrafast timescales is a key advantage. Notwithstanding successful examples in, e.g., the renewable energy, telecommunication, and biomedical fields, the horizon of ultrafast laser applications can still be extended if the full potential of ultrafast laser pulses can offer is taken advantage of. To this extent, advanced light control techniques are required to master the interactions between ultrafast laser light and the material being illuminated.

This Special Issue “Advanced Techniques for Ultrafast Laser Nano/Micro Patterning” of Micromachines seeks to showcase research papers, short communications, and review articles that focus on advanced techniques for the control of ultrashort laser pulses that lead to more advanced laser–material interaction control, and hence, better performances for micro/nanopatterning. We hope that the papers will encompass the next key technological leaps that will further extend applications of femtosecond laser pulses. Suitable contributions can be related but are not restricted to, for instance, spatial and temporal laser shaping, polarization/wavelength and pulse duration control, tuning of pulse overlap, repetition rate and burst parameters, and combination with other processing means (etching, longer laser pulses, etc.).

Dr. Cyril Mauclair
Dr. Xxx Sedao
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • ultrafast laser processing
  • temporal/spatial beam shaping
  • polarization control
  • burst mode
  • micro/nano patterning

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 31095 KiB  
Article
Femtosecond Laser Engraving of Deep Patterns in Steel and Sapphire
by David Pallarés-Aldeiturriaga, Pierre Claudel, Julien Granier, Julien Travers, Lionel Guillermin, Marc-Olivier Flaissier, Patrick Beaure d’Augeres and Xxx Sedao
Micromachines 2021, 12(7), 804; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12070804 - 7 Jul 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3014
Abstract
Femtosecond laser engraving offers appealing advantages compared to regular laser engraving such as higher precision and versatility. In particular, the inscription of deep patterns exhibits an increasing interest in industry. In this work, an optimization protocol based on constraining overlap ratio and scan [...] Read more.
Femtosecond laser engraving offers appealing advantages compared to regular laser engraving such as higher precision and versatility. In particular, the inscription of deep patterns exhibits an increasing interest in industry. In this work, an optimization protocol based on constraining overlap ratio and scan number is demonstrated. The proposed method allows changing overlap ratio while maintaining depth in the same range, which reduces the sampling number. This study WAS applied to stainless steel 316 L and sapphire for engravings deeper than 100 μm. Results exhibit overall depths higher than threshold values and allowed to determine optimized engraving quality, for instance, roughness in steel can be reduced while maintaining depth and taper angle by reducing overlap ratio. The optimized laser parameters such as roughness and taper angle factors for sapphire were also found to be as follows: 200 kHz, 86% overlap and 12 J/cm2. As a demonstration, a logo engraving is illustrated at the end. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Techniques for Ultrafast Laser Nano/Micro Patterning)
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9 pages, 1518 KiB  
Article
Damage Inside Borosilicate Glass by a Single Picosecond Laser Pulse
by Weibo Cheng, Jan-Willem Pieterse and Rongguang Liang
Micromachines 2021, 12(5), 553; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12050553 - 13 May 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2025
Abstract
We investigate damage inside the bulk of borosilicate glass by a single shot of IR picosecond laser pulse both experimentally and numerically. In our experiments, bulk damage of borosilicate glass with aspect ratio of about 1:10 is generated. The shape and size of [...] Read more.
We investigate damage inside the bulk of borosilicate glass by a single shot of IR picosecond laser pulse both experimentally and numerically. In our experiments, bulk damage of borosilicate glass with aspect ratio of about 1:10 is generated. The shape and size of the damage site are shown to correspond to an electron cloud with density of about 1020 cm3. The underlying mechanism of electron generation by multiphoton ionization and avalanche ionization is numerically investigated. The multiphoton ionization rate and avalanche ionization rate are determined by fitting experimental results. The relative role of multiphoton ionization and avalanche ionization are numerically studied and the percentage of electron contribution from each ionization channel is determined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Techniques for Ultrafast Laser Nano/Micro Patterning)
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9 pages, 8397 KiB  
Article
Five-Dimensional Optical Data Storage Based on Ellipse Orientation and Fluorescence Intensity in a Silver-Sensitized Commercial Glass
by Chang-Hyun Park, Yannick Petit, Lionel Canioni and Seung-Han Park
Micromachines 2020, 11(12), 1026; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11121026 - 24 Nov 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3109
Abstract
Five-dimensional (5D) recording and decoding is demonstrated by using femtosecond direct laser writing in a silver-containing commercial glass. In particular, laser intensities and ellipse orientations generated by anamorphic focusing are employed to produce 5D data storage unit (3D for XYZ, 1D for the [...] Read more.
Five-dimensional (5D) recording and decoding is demonstrated by using femtosecond direct laser writing in a silver-containing commercial glass. In particular, laser intensities and ellipse orientations generated by anamorphic focusing are employed to produce 5D data storage unit (3D for XYZ, 1D for the orientation of the elliptically-shaped data storage unit and 1D for its fluorescence intensity). In the recording process, two different images of a 4-bit bitmap format were simultaneously embedded in the medium by multiplexing the elliptical orientation of the laser focus and its intensity so as to access oriented elliptical patterns with independent fluorescence intensity. In the decoding process, two merged original images were successfully reconstructed by comparing each data storage unit with a fabricated calibration matrix of 16 × 16 levels for elliptic orientations and fluorescence intensities. We believe this technique can be applied to semi-permanent high-density data storage device. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Techniques for Ultrafast Laser Nano/Micro Patterning)
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14 pages, 2680 KiB  
Article
Non-Diffractive Bessel Beams for Ultrafast Laser Scanning Platform and Proof-Of-Concept Side-Wall Polishing of Additively Manufactured Parts
by Huu Dat Nguyen, Xxx Sedao, Cyril Mauclair, Guillaume Bidron, Nicolas Faure, Enrique Moreno, Jean-Philippe Colombier and Razvan Stoian
Micromachines 2020, 11(11), 974; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11110974 - 30 Oct 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 7444
Abstract
We report the potential use of non-diffractive Bessel beam for ultrafast laser processing in additive manufacturing environments, its integration into a fast scanning platform, and proof-of-concept side-wall polishing of stainless steel-based additively fabricated parts. We demonstrate two key advantages of the zeroth-order Bessel [...] Read more.
We report the potential use of non-diffractive Bessel beam for ultrafast laser processing in additive manufacturing environments, its integration into a fast scanning platform, and proof-of-concept side-wall polishing of stainless steel-based additively fabricated parts. We demonstrate two key advantages of the zeroth-order Bessel beam: the significantly long non-diffractive length for large tolerance of sample positioning and the unique self-reconstruction property for un-disrupted beam access, despite the obstruction of metallic powders in the additive manufacturing environment. The integration of Bessel beam scanning platform is constructed by finely adapting the Bessel beam into a Galvano scanner. The beam sustained its good profile within the scan field of 35 × 35 mm2. As a proof of concept, the platform showcases its advanced capacity by largely reducing the side-wall surface roughness of an additively as-fabricated workpiece from Ra 10 μm down to 1 μm. Therefore, the demonstrated Bessel–Scanner configuration possesses great potential for integrating in a hybrid additive manufacturing apparatus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Techniques for Ultrafast Laser Nano/Micro Patterning)
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11 pages, 3103 KiB  
Article
Understanding of the Mechanism for Laser Ablation-Assisted Patterning of Graphene/ITO Double Layers: Role of Effective Thermal Energy Transfer
by Hyung Seok Ryu, Hong-Seok Kim, Daeyoon Kim, Sang Jun Lee, Wonjoon Choi, Sang Jik Kwon, Jae-Hee Han and Eou-Sik Cho
Micromachines 2020, 11(9), 821; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11090821 - 29 Aug 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3824
Abstract
Demand for the fabrication of high-performance, transparent electronic devices with improved electronic and mechanical properties is significantly increasing for various applications. In this context, it is essential to develop highly transparent and conductive electrodes for the realization of such devices. To this end, [...] Read more.
Demand for the fabrication of high-performance, transparent electronic devices with improved electronic and mechanical properties is significantly increasing for various applications. In this context, it is essential to develop highly transparent and conductive electrodes for the realization of such devices. To this end, in this work, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown graphene was transferred to both glass and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates that had been pre-coated with an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer and then subsequently patterned by using a laser-ablation method for a low-cost, simple, and high-throughput process. A comparison of the results of the laser ablation of such a graphene/ITO double layer with those of the ITO single-layered films reveals that a larger amount of effective thermal energy of the laser used is transferred in the lateral direction along the graphene upper layer in the graphene/ITO double-layered structure, attributable to the high thermal conductivity of graphene. The transferred thermal energy is expected to melt and evaporate the lower ITO layer at a relatively lower threshold energy of laser ablation. The transient analysis of the temperature profiles indicates that the graphene layers can act as both an effective thermal diffuser and converter for the planar heat transfer. Raman spectroscopy was used to investigate the graphite peak on the ITO layer where the graphene upper layer was selectively removed because of the incomplete heating and removal process for the ITO layer by the laterally transferred effective thermal energy of the laser beam. Our approach could have broad implications for designing highly transparent and conductive electrodes as well as a new way of nanoscale patterning for other optoelectronic-device applications using laser-ablation methods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Techniques for Ultrafast Laser Nano/Micro Patterning)
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18 pages, 5075 KiB  
Article
Performance and Accuracy of the Shifted Laser Surface Texturing Method
by Jiří Martan, Denys Moskal, Ladislav Smeták and Milan Honner
Micromachines 2020, 11(5), 520; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11050520 - 20 May 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3087
Abstract
A shifted laser surface texturing method (sLST) was developed for the improvement of the production speed of functional surface textures to enable their industrial applicability. This paper compares the shifted method to classic methods using a practical texturing example, with a focus on [...] Read more.
A shifted laser surface texturing method (sLST) was developed for the improvement of the production speed of functional surface textures to enable their industrial applicability. This paper compares the shifted method to classic methods using a practical texturing example, with a focus on delivering the highest processing speed. The accuracy of the texture is assessed by size and circularity measurements with the use of LabIR paint and by a depth profile measurement using a contact surface profiler. The heat accumulation temperature increase and laser usage efficiency were also calculated. The classic methods (path filling and hatch) performed well (deviation ≤ 5%) up to a certain scanning speed (0.15 and 0.7 m/s). For the shifted method, no scanning speed limit was identified within the maximum of the system (8 m/s). The depth profile shapes showed similar deviations (6% to 10%) for all methods. The shifted method in its burst variant achieved the highest processing speed (11 times faster, 146 mm2/min). The shifted method in its path filling variant achieved the highest processing efficiency per needed laser power (64 mm2/(min·W)), lowest heat accumulation temperature increase (3 K) and highest laser usage efficiency (99%). The advantages of the combination of the shifted method with GHz burst machining and the multispot approach were described. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Techniques for Ultrafast Laser Nano/Micro Patterning)
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