ICALEO Laser Microfabrication Conf. (Laser Inst. of America, Vol. 88) 1999.

Laser Microprocessing at Photonics Research Ontario

M. Nantel1,3, Y. Liao3 , B. Bruner3 , P. Herman2 , R. Marjoribanks 3 , R.J.D. Miller3,4, K. Chen2 , I. Konovalov2 , S. Ness2 , A. Oettl3 , B. J. Siwick3 1 Laser Micromachining Facility - Photonics Research Ontario (PRO) 2 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Toronto 3 Department of Physics - University of Toronto 4 Department of Chemistry University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Since the trend with many sectors of industry is toward miniaturisation (electronics, photonics, biomedical), laser micromachining is playing an increasingly important role in the manufacturing of high-tech and consumer products. Research in laser micromachining has to address many facets of the effort, including novel laser sources development, basic laser-matter interaction, and the exploration of new processes and devices. Photonics Research Ontario (PRO), a Centre of Excellence of the Government of Ontario, is tackling laser micromachining research on all of these fronts by funding basic research in Ontario universities, R & D projects with industry, and collaborative efforts bringing together both industry and academia. This paper presents the PRO/MMO state-of-the-art Laser Micromachining Facility and highlights some of the research conducted by PRO principal investigators. The PRO/MMO Laser Micromachining Facility In order to address the growing need in Ontario for laser micromachining, Photonics Research Ontario (PRO) and Materials and Manufacturing Ontario (MMO), in collaboration with the University of Toronto, McMaster University and seven industrial partners, have established the state-of-the-art Laser Micromachining Facility (LMF). The LMF was designed to offer a versatile environment for basic laser microprocessing research, collaborative R & D projects and contract laser micromachining. Supported by both provincial and federal agencies, it is also intended to serve as a fertile training ground in laser microprocessing for students, post-doctoral fellows and industry scientists. Figure 1 shows a photo of the main laser micromachining system at the LMF. Two Lumonics Sigma-400 diode-pumped Nd :YLF kHz lasers are perched atop a solid arch and base (1,000 kg of agglomerated granite for inertial damping of vibrations). The lasers are of the latest design one is the prototype for a model designed and built by Miller and his group at the University of Toronto and have an output of 10 W of infrared (1.053 m), 6 W of green (526 nm) or 2.5 W of ultraviolet (351 nm) in pulses with durations adjustable from 40 to 600 ns. The laser beam is focussed onto the sample to be micromachined using a 55-mm apochromat triplet lens mounted

Laser Microfab.-Icaleo 1999 / 186

on a Z-axis positioning stage with 5-m positioning accuracy. The rest of the Aerotech positioning system is accurate to +/-1 m over a 30-cm by 30-cm X-Y plane, and also provides a 1 arcmin of angle precision for rotation (parallel to the Y axis). This high-accuracy, longrange system provides the widest versatility possible for the many facility users. The -axis allows the system to micromachine tubes for biomedical applications such as catheters and stents. The laser, laser shutter and 4-axis stage are all computer-controlled in tandem by an Aerotech U-600 controller and a PC, permitting both NC-programmed and point-and-shoot laser processing. In order to keep the laser in focus even when the workpiece is warped, a novel noncontact, non-capacitive autofocus system automatically corrects on-the-fly the height of the lens above the workpiece. Finally, a collinear halogen lighting and CCD imaging system provides visual feedback of the machining in process. One can see in figure 2 examples of pieces that were laser micromachined on this system for external users, including a filter (Fig. 2a), a trimmed microelectronic circuit (Fig. 2b), and a small complex cut (Fig. 2c). In services to our clients, the LMF provides several more conventional laser machining equipment, including a 50-W fiber-delivered, flashlamp-pumped YAG laser microwelder (Unitek-Miyachi), and a small 25-W CO2 galvo-laser marker (Synrad).

Figure 1. Photo of the PRO/MMO Laser Micromachining Facilitys main system, featuring a prototype Lumonics kHz YLF laser, a computer-controlled 4-axis positioning stage and an imaging system (showing a 10-m hole on the monitor screen).

Laser Microfab.-Icaleo 1999 / 187

a) b) c) Figure 2. Examples of work from the LMF main system. a) detail from a million-hole array of 50-m holes, 80 m apart, in 75-m brass; b) laser trimming of 3-m-wide aluminum wires on a microcircuit, with holes less than 5 m deep; c) 1-mm-diameter Ontario trillium symbol cut in 75-m brass, with smallest features of 20 m.

With the establishment of the LMF, and with strategic research in laser microprocessing and laser source development, PRO intends to provide a service for the present laser micromachining needs but also a window for industry into tomorrows technology and science on the subject. In the following sections, we highlight several of the research areas being pursued at the LMF and by principal investigators supported by PRO.

High-power frequency conversion One of the main directions in laser micromachining source development is towards shorter wavelengths. Practical excimer systems are now available that reach down to 157 nm (F2 lasers)1 , and frequency-converted infrared (IR) solid-state lasers such as YAG and YLF can now be found in their fifth harmonic (around 200 nm). The demand for such short wavelengths is increasing especially due to the push for smaller features in the microelectronic world. But in the case of frequency-converted solid-state lasers, there have been damage problems with the 3rdand 4th -harmonic non-linear crystals, reducing their useful lifetime. For example, when the ultraviolet (UV) power of the 3rd-harmonic exceeds 2 W, the UV crystal surface degrades quickly, sometimes within 400 hours. While the causes for such a decline in the crystals performance remains somewhat unclear, candidates include an unclean crystal surface, migration of impurities from the crystal bulk to the surface, and reactions at the surface with oxygen in the air. In order to better evaluate the role of the atmosphere surrounding the crystal surface, we conducted a series of controlled tests with the frequency-doubling and -tripling crystals in a vacuum chamber. The atmosphere in the chamber could be pumped out and left as a 1 -mTorr vacuum, or filled with a or buffer gases. The crystals used were a 16-mm-long LBO Type I for ir the doubling and a 16-mm-long LBO Type II for the tripling. To ensure clean crystal surfaces, they were ion-milled clean before the experiment. The stainless steel vacuum cell was cleaned with solvents and in an ultrasound bath, and a nitrogen trap in the vacuum line was used to minimize pump oil diffusion into the cell and onto the crystals. The crystals were water cooled. A 10-W, 5-kHz Nd :YLF laser at the LMF was focussed on the crystals, providing a conversion efficiency of ~25% from IR to UV, or 2.5 W of UV. The pulse duration was 70 ns. Frequencytripling crystal lifetime experiments were conducted in vacuum (no oxygen or dust), with 1

Laser Microfab.-Icaleo 1999 / 188

atmosphere of pure dry nitrogen (similar to air, with no oxygen or dust), with one atmosphere of helium (a heat conduction 5 times that of air), and with two atmosphere of helium.

The results from these experiments are shown in the figure 3, plotting the UV power at the output of the crystals and the simultaneous IR power from the laser. The crystal damage appears much faster in vacuum than with the buffer gases. While there is a possibility that outgased materials might have played a role in the damage process, we believe that this results also points to surface heating (and insufficient cooling) on the third-harmonic crystal as a cause for the damage, a problem that is accentuated in a vacuum where there is no conduction cooling on the surface. This claim is supported by the behaviour of the crystal when in buffer gas atmospheres: from the standpoint of crystal lifetime, one atmosphere of nitrogen is similar to leaving the crystals in air at normal pressure, one atmosphere of helium improve the lifetime by a factor of ~5, and two atmospheres of helium improve this by a further factor of 2. At the end of each experiment, visual inspection of the 3rd-harmonic crystal revealed damage at the position of the laser spot, on the outgoing surface. While the crystals in these experiments were driven harder than one might in a viable commercial system, UV powers above 2.4 W for 5,000 to 10,000 hours are desired. Further research on that subject is currently under way at PRO.

Crystal burn
2.5 30

2 25

1.5 20 1
UV, UV, UV, UV, 1 mTorr vacuum (W) 1 atm Nitrogen (W) 1 atm Helium (W) 2 atm Helium (W)

0.5

IR, 1 atm Nitrogen (W) IR, 2 atm Helium (W)

15

0 0.01

0.1

10

10 100

Time (hours)
Figure 3. UV power out of the frequency-tripling crystal as a function of time (left vertical axis) for various atmospheric conditions around the crystal. Right vertical axis : typical curve for the IR power during two of these measurements.

Laser Microfab.-Icaleo 1999 / 189

Extreme regimes : short-wavelength and ultrafast lasers Transparent glass materials provide the backbone of many of todays rapidly expanding photonics application areas, which serve such diverse fields as optical communications, electronics, sensor technologies, medicine, and materials processing. For optical communications, the development of planar lightwave circuits that combine directional couplers, add/drop filters, multiplexers, switches, wavelength converters, attenuators, and more onto a single chip is crucial. This development is analogous to the first planarization and integration of transistor and other electronic components onto silicon four decades ago, which spawned the exponentially growing electronic chip industry. Todays photonics industry holds equal promise, and is already tracking growth rates similar to the well-known Moores law. In other optical application areas, fine feature-sizes are also required in diffractive optical elements, binary optics, miniature lens arrays, holographic optical storage, and masks for lithography. The future evolution of photonics will be dictated by the development of precise processing tools that can nanostructure optical materials. One approach to processing includes the direct shaping of optical surface by micromachining or etching2,3. Alternatively, refractive index changes can be patterned internally in optical materials4 as is currently done in fabricating fiber Bragg gratings with ultraviolet lasers5 . These applications present challenges in material processing, especially on the scale of 100-nm feature size. We are emphasizing two extremes in laser technology: ultrafast lasers that drive nonlinear material interactions with wide-bandgap glass, and the short-wavelength F2 lasers that access defects or near-bandedge states to couple laser energy into the medium. These fundamentally different approaches offer distinct advantages and limitations for microsculpting surfaces and for writing refractive index structures in transparent glasses. F2 laser ablation The 157-nm output of the F2 laser, which strongly couples energy into glass via defects or near-bandedge states, provides one approach for micromachining glass1,6. This laser constitute the next rung down the wavelength ladder of the excimer-type lasers, and several commercial models are currently available. While the 157-nm laser is currently targeted by SEMATECH for laser lithography of microelectronic chips, The laser also affords strong advantages when machining glass. We compare here etching of glass using 157-nm and 193-nm laser wavelengths on a promising platform for developing planar optical circuits which offer low loss and efficient coupling into todays fiber-based optical communication systems: germanium-doped glass. Figure 4a shows the result of 193-nm ablation of such a waveplate grown on silicon substrate (PIRI SMPWL; 8-m germanosilicate on 20-m fused silica). The whole 28-m thick layer was ejected with a single pulse at 3.6 J/cm2 fluence, leaving behind a damaged silicon surface and fractured glass edges. The gross mechanical ejection is presumably the result of laser heating at the glass-silicon interface. The glass is too transparent at 193 nm for delicate structuring of waveguide and similar components on such optical platforms. Figure 4b shows the outcome using 100 pulses of 157-nm laser light at similar single-shot fluence. A smooth uniform excision of 6-m depth was produced over a ~125 x 180-m2 area. A 60-nm/pulse etch rate for the F2 laser attests to the excellent control of feature depth that is most promising for shaping photonic components.

Laser Microfab.-Icaleo 1999 / 190

a) b) Figure 4. Microscope photograph of optical waveguide (glass on silicon) etched by 193-nm (a) and 157-nm (b) lasers. At 193-nm, a single pulse at 3.6 J/cm2 fluence mechanically ejected the whole 28-m thick layer of glass, leaving gross cracks in the glass and damage on the silicon underlayer. With 157-nm radiation, a smooth 6-m deep recess was precisely excised with 100 pulses at 3.0-J/cm2 fluence. Excised areas are ~225 x 225 m2 in a) and ~180 x 125 m2 in b).

Ultrafast lasers Ultrafast lasers of different sorts are proving to be an excellent source of new tools for precise micromachining of a wide range of materials, especially including wide-bandgap or transparent materials. Single-picosecond and femtosecond lasers give qualitatively new results, by extending our control over how a given pulse energy is delivered. Their intense optical fields drive distinctly different, nonlinear, absorption mechanisms at relatively modest fluence values of 1-10 J/cm2 . Their shorter time scale of laser interactions reduces collateral damage and avoids plume-shielding effects. Further, laser energy can be preferentially deposited into exceptionally small volumes (<1-m3 ), affording an unprecedented degree of control and precision in sculpting surfaces7-14 or changing the refractive index15-17 of optically transparent materials. These advantages offer prospects for ultrafast-laser shaping of surface or internal microstructures to define miniature photonic components, now in high demand in optical communication networks18 . In our recent PRO-based researched in this area, a feedback-controlled Nd:glass oscillator19 ( = 1054 nm) operating at 1 Hz repetition rate provided an approximately flat-topped train of 430 mode-locked pulses with pulse-to-pulse separation of 7.5 ns. A single high-contrast pulse of 1.2-ps duration could be selected by an external Pockels cell and amplified 13-fold in a four-pass geometry or a waveplate added to pass the full oscillator train of 430 pulses to the amplifier for parallel studies of single-pulse and ultra-high-repetition-rate (burst) machining. The pulses were focussed by GRIN lenses to near-diffraction-limited spot sizes as small as 0.8 m (1/e2 ) diameter. The polished fused silica samples were mounted on a precision x -y-z stage. Focussing was monitored by image-relaying the retro-reflected beam from the focal spot, with magnification, onto a CCD camera. On-target fluence for single-pulse machining was varied over the range 2 to 170 J/cm2 by adjusting the amplifier gain, by using neutral density filters, and

Laser Microfab.-Icaleo 1999 / 191

by employing different focal-length lenses. In cases where the 3-s long pulse train was used, the accumulated fluence per burst was ~100 kJ/cm2 in a diameter of ~2 m. The optical microscope photo in Figure 5 shows a high aspect-ratio hole formed as a result of the pulse train. A smooth symmetric hole of 8-m diameter was excised to 30-m depth (determined with optical microscopy) without inducing fractures, cracks, or swelling in the hole periphery. In comparison, the 1-Hz repetition rate used for single pulses caused microcracks after only 3 pulses for the same per-pulse fluence. Cumulative heating effects associated with the 133-MHz pulse-repetition rate in the pulse train are likely to improve the ductility of the surrounding glass, thereby mitigating the shock-induced microcracking in regions immediately surrounding the hole perimeter. Heat incompletely dissipated on a nanosecond time-scale may explain the expansion of hole diameters to 8 -10 m, ~5 larger than the diameter of the focussed laser beam. In the operation of the feedback-controlled modelocked oscillator, the first few pulses of the train are also somewhat longer-duration (~5-10 ps); possibly this may also have an effect.

10 m
Figure 5. Nomarski micrograph of hole excised in fused silica by burst machining: a mode-locked pulse train consisting of ~430 single 1.2-ps laser pulses with a pulse-to-pulse separation of 7.5-ns. The ~30-m deep hole has optically smooth walls and shows no evidence of fractures, cracks, or surface swelling in the periphery. The total (integrated) fluence was ~100 kJ/cm2 .

Another way ultrafast laser micromachining can be used is to find new techniques for storing data. The ever increasing data storage requirements of computer technology has lead many researchers to investigate a variety of three dimensional (3-D) optical memory schemes20,21. Optical data storage in 3-D has the important advantage that bit storage density scales as 1/3 compared to 1/2 for 2-D optical memories, potentially providing bit densities in excess of 1012 bits/cm3 in 3-D media. At the LMF, we are developing new industry-friendly ultrafast lasers that will be used for that purpose and for other laser micromachining applications. Figure 6 shows a Cr:LiSGaF ultrashort-pulse oscillator which produces a mode-locked train of pulses at 150 MHz at 844 nm, with an average power of 30 mW. This novel kHz-repetition-rate, diode-pumped

Laser Microfab.-Icaleo 1999 / 192

Figure 6. kHz-repetition-rate, diode-pumped Cr :LiSGaF ultrashort pulse oscillator

Cr :LiSGaF ultrashort pulse laser is being developed at the University of Toronto and is scheduled to be amplified to energies of 1-mJ/pulse and coupled to the main LMF system.

Conclusion We introduced the new PRO/MMO Laser Micromachining Facility and highlighted some of the main laser micromachining research projects presently supported by Photonics Research Ontario. In particular, we showed results of a Nd :YLF laser frequency-tripling study that point to heat management of the output face of the 3rd-harmonic crystal as a crucial aspect for the longevity of such crystals for high-power UV applications. We also presented two applications at opposite forefronts of laser technology : deep UV and ultrafast lasers. A comparison between 193-nm and 157-nm lasers for etching glass, with the F2 laser showing great promise for the controlled shaping of glass in applications such as optical waveguide writing, while burst micromachining of glass with an ultrafast laser shows remarkable results. Finally, we described a very promising industry-friendly ultrafast laser for micromachining.

References 1. P.R. Herman, K. Beckley, B. Jackson, K. Kurosawa, D. Moore, T. Yamanishi, and J. Yang, SPIE Proc. 2992, 86 (1997). 2. P.R. Herman, J. Yang, K. Kurosawa, and T. Yamanishi, SPIE Proc. 2991, 10 (1997). 3. K. Rubahn and J. Ihlemann, Appl. Surf. Sci. 127-129, 881 (1998). 4. K.O. Hill, Y. Fujii, D.C. Johnson, and B.S. Kawasaki, Appl. Phys. Lett. 32, 647 (1978). 5. R. Kashyap, Fiber Bragg Gratings, Academic Press (New York, 1999). 6. P.R. Herman, B. Chen, D.J. Moore, and M. Canaga-Retnam, MRS Proc. 236, 53 (1992). 7. S. Kuper and M. Stuke, Appl. Phys. B 44, 199 (1987). 8. A.C. Tam, J. L. Brand, D.C. Cheng, and W. Zapka, Appl. Phys. Lett. 55, 2045 (1989). 9. J. Ihlemann, Appl. Surf. Sci. 54, 193 (1992). 10. D. Du, X. Liu, G. Korn, J. Squier, and G. Mourou, Appl. Phys. Lett. 64, 3071 (1994). 11. B.C. Stuart, M.D. Feit, A.M. Rubenchik, B.W. Shore, and M.D. Perry, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2248 (1995). Laser Microfab.-Icaleo 1999 / 193

12. H. Varel, D. Ashkenasi, A. Rosenfeld, R. Herrmann, F. Noack, and E.E.B. Campbell, Appl. Phys. A 62, 293, (1996). 13. W. Kautek, J. Kruger, M. Lenzner, S. Sartania, C. Spielmann, and F. Krausz, Appl. Phys. Lett. 69, 3146 (1996). 14. S. Ameer-Beg, W. Perrie, S. Rathbone, J. Wright, W. Weaver, and H. Champoux, Appl. Surf. Sci. 127-129, 875 (1998). 15. K. M. Davis, K. Miura, N. Sugimoto, and K. Hirao, Opt. Lett. 21, 1729 (1996). 16. E.N. Glezer, M. Milosavljevic, L. Huang, R.J. Finlay, T.-H. Her, J.P. Callan, and E. Mazur, Opt. Lett. 21, 2023 (1996). 17. D. Ahkenasi, H. Varel, A. Rosenfeld, S. Henz, J. Hermann, and E.E.B. Campbell, Appl. Phys. Lett. 72, 1442 (1998). 18. P.R. Herman, R. Marjoribanks, M. Nantel, X. Gu, J. Kalbfleisch, J. Long, M. Lukacs, and T. Oettl, SPIE proc. 3618 (1999). 19. R.S. Marjoribanks, F.W. Budnik, L. Zhao, G. Kulcsar, M. Stanier, and J. Mihaychuk, Opt. Lett. 18, 361 (1993). 20. D.A. Parthenopoulos and P.M. Rentzepis, Science 245, 843 (1989). 21. E.N. Glezer, M. Milosavljevic, L. Huang, R.J. Finlay, T.H. Her, J.P. Callan, and E. Mazur, Opt. Lett. 21, 2023 (1996).

Laser Microfab.-Icaleo 1999 / 194