pp. 137-145
S&M515 Research Paper Published: 2003 Glass Etching Assisted by Femtosecond Pulse Modification [PDF] Chienliu Chang, Takashi Abe and Masayoshi Esashi (Received July 18, 2002; Accepted January 28, 2003) Keywords: femtosecond laser, micromachining, etching, Pyrex glass, modification
In this paper the etching of Pyrex glass assisted by femtosecond pulses is reported. The process consists of 2 steps: (1) irradiating the glass by focused pulses from a femtosecond laser, (2) etching the glass in diluted HF (hydrofluoric acid) a solution. The glass can be modified without cracking by applying a femtosecond laser with a very low intensity. The etched depth of Pyrex glass increases from 12 to 131 µm with femtosecond laser irradiation from 0 to 1170 kJ/cm2 , and etching in a 5% HF solution for 230 min. This technique provides an alternative way of achieving a high etching rate of Pyrex glass for applications to micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), and of forming suspended structures on the surface of a Pyrex glass substrate by using modified glass as a sacrificial layer.
Corresponding author: Chienliu ChangCite this article Chienliu Chang, Takashi Abe and Masayoshi Esashi, Glass Etching Assisted by Femtosecond Pulse Modification, Sens. Mater., Vol. 15, No. 3, 2003, p. 137-145. |