Ultra-Fine Mesh & Micro Drilling
Process: Ablation
Metal microfilters outperform polymer filters.
Microfilters and sieves used in biotech, pharmaceuticals and aerospace for filtering particles or cells. Metal microfilters outperform polymer filters in thermal and chemical stability.
Ultra-short pulsed lasers rely on non-linear absorption.
Because ultra-short pulsed lasers rely on non-linear absorption, they can ablate materials that normally don’t absorb at the laser wavelength. That means they can process metals, silicon, glass and polymers (among others).
Ultra-Precise Micro Machining
Cutting or forming micron-scale holes in thin metal masks (typically stainless steel, nickel or other alloys) is crucial in applications where material deposition, particle flow or light/electron control must be tightly controlled.
Typical applications include shadow masks in the manufacture of OLED displays and metal masks/micro filters used in the biomedical industry.
Laser micro-machining using ultra-short pulsed lasers can directly ablate material with extreme precision and minimal heat-affected zone.
Waleed Hafez
Project lead
Why it matters?
Ultra-short pulsed lasers are critical for fabricating micro-hole metal masks as they can remove material with minimal heat distortion than compared to other traditional laser methods. Such laser systems can produce burr free edges, minimal heat affected zone and sub-micron precision – allowing for sub 50-micron holes with sub 30-micron interspacing. This makes laser micro-machining essential for applications where extreme accuracy and precision are required.
