Laser micromachining is also known as Excimer laser micromachining due to the type of laser that is typically used. Excimer lasers produce relatively wide ultraviolet light beams which ionize and decompose materials during micromachining processes.
Laser Micromachining
Used in industries such as medical, semiconductor, aeronautic and microelectronics, laser micromachining applications include conductive glass processing, 2D microstructure array machining and small feature patterning. This subcategory of laser cutters is a service generally used for material machining and structural fabrication through an excimer laser, a type of molecular gas laser. Excimer lasers are unique; instead of burning or vaporizing away materials like other lasers, such as the CO2 laser, excimer lasers send out pulsations that remove material surface layers through ablation. Ablation is the irradiation of thin layers of a surface through a laser beam. The excimer laser is precision controlled through a combination of CNC and CAD computer systems. A CNC laser cutter is a computer controller that enables the machine to run automatically once the CAD program is set up and running. Long lists of materials exist that can be laser micromachined, including silicon, glass substrates, plastics, metals, polymer materials and even human skin. Laser micromachining services such as microdrilling, micromilling and microcutting are used to micromachine components that are smaller than a micron, which is equal to one millionth of a meter.
