Micromachining metal surface using Nd-YAG laser

Sasiraj S., Chandan Sengupta, Roshan Makkar, Anuj Bhatnagar* Optoelectronics Division, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER), Hill Side, IIT Campus, Powai, Mumbai-400076 * E-mail: anuj@sameer.gov.in Abstract: Nd-YAG laser is widely used for laboratory experiments and also in industries. A system comprising Nd-YAG laser and nanopositioning stages is automated to perform direct writing of artwork on metal plates. Layout of circular and rectangular spiral, integrated optic splitter, Mach-Zehnder interferometer etc are generated using MATLAB software and corresponding artwork created on Aluminium plates using Nd-YAG laser. The system automation work reported here is aimed towards developing a micro and nano-machining equipment using femtosecond laser to enable direct writing of optical waveguide devices. Keywords: Micromachining, laser writing, Nd-YAG laser 1. INTRODUCTION ALS130 employs a centre-driven, non-cogging linear motor as the driving element. Since the linear motor is a direct drive device, there is no backlash or windup that is normally associated with a lead screw or ball-screw drive. The linear motor drive also offers the advantage of higher speeds and accelerations. The linear stages can move at peak unloaded acceleration of 1 g and a maximum velocity of 300 mm/s. It has 20 nm step-to-step resolutions. This is particularly important in alignment applications where step accuracy is critical.

Lasers have several industrial, medical, defence and laboratory applications [1]. Direct writing of integrated optical components using femtosecond laser is an upcoming technology which is likely to replace the tedious and expensive clean room based device processing steps [2]. A system is configured to perform laser based micromachining of metal surfaces with the aim to later convert it in to a femtosecond based device writing system. This requires three dimensional motion of job plate with respect to laser beam in a precisely controlled manner. The motion is defined by desired artwork and the corresponding coordinate information generated using a MATLAB program. 2. SYSTEM FOR MICROMACHINING

The experimental arrangement for laser micromachining is shown in fig. 1. The system manufactured by Elektronik Laser System GmbH for laser diode packaging is modified to perform this task. The job plate movement consists of Aerotech nanopositioning linear-X, linear-Z and rotation stages [3]. The stages are mounted on a thick granite slab to damp the ground vibrations. Laser beam delivery is done through optical fiber cable. A microscope with CCD camera is used to view the job plate from top. The complete system is enclosed in a cubical chamber with sliding door in the front panel for eye safe operation of laser. ALS130 series mechanical bearing based motorized linear X-Z stages as shown in fig. 2(a) have been used in the micromachining setup. Unlike many stages that utilize a side-drive lead screw,
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Fig.1: Nd-YAG laser writing setup Aerotech's ADRS series direct-drive rotary stage is used for rotation, as shown in fig. 2(b). It utilizes direct-drive brushless motor technology suitable for production environments, as there are no brushes to replace and no gear trains or belts to maintain. Direct drive also provides quicker acceleration and higher top speeds than gear or belt-driven mechanisms, yielding higher total overall throughput. The ADRS series uses a slot less stator design

that eliminates torque ripple. This motor technology provides ultra-smooth velocity stability comparable to a high-quality DC brush motor without all the DC motors inherent maintenance requirements. Since the slot less motor is directly coupled to the tabletop, velocity disturbances created by toothed belt drives or worm gears are eliminated.

automation 3200 software and open laser shutter 7. Controlled stage movement by Nstep Digital Controller and Automation 3200 software 8. Draw the pattern 9. Inspect it under microscope or camera In this work we take a dull finish flat aluminium plate and focus the Nd-YAG laser beam. The pulse energy is varied between 1 Joule to 30 joule and the corresponding impression on metal surface is measured. The measurable spot diameter is found from 26 joule onwards. The laser pulse energy versus spot diameter plot is found to follow linear variation as shown in fig. 3.

Fig.2: ADRS series Aerotech nanopositioning stages (a) linear (b) Rotation stage The motion of nanopositioning stages is controlled using Nstep digital controller module and automation 3200 software. NStep is a two- or four-axis stepper controller that interfaces with any standard stepper drive via clock and direction inputs. Automation 3200 is a software based control architecture coupled to maximum 32 digital drives through a FireWire network. It is used in many applications such as robotics, automotives, machine tool industries and performing laser based medical surgery etc. The motion of stages can be coordinated with even nonstepper axes, to produce contoured motion. Writing desired artwork requires co-ordinate information, speed control and automation of stages for sample movement in two-dimensions. The coordinate calculation for desired artwork and stage velocity control are performed by Matlab based GUI Software [4]. This graphical user interface software also creates the machine program that executes Automation 3200 software and hence drives Nstep digital controller module for stage movement. 3. LASER WRITEN ARTWORKS Fig.4: Circular spiral pattern generated using (a) MATLAB program (b) Nd-YAG laser on Aluminium The optical waveguide splitter is a Y shaped structure used for splitting incoming signal with each signal guided to take a different path. The splitters are realized using photolithography followed by ion exchange or diffusion in optical materials. Direct writing of waveguide structure using femtosecond laser is another alternative method of fabricating such devices. The technique requires moving optical
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Fig.3: Diameter of Nd-YAG laser written spot on Aluminium plate varying with energy With this result, we made artwork on aluminium metal plates. Matlab program is written to generate a circular spiral and create a similar pattern on aluminium surface as shown in fig. 4.

Writing desired artwork on a metallic surface using a focused laser beam requires the following steps 1. Write MATLAB program for desired artwork 2. Enter key parameters for artwork, draw and check the layout and generate data file 3. Convert MATLAB generated data file into machine program in RS274 G/M-Code 4. Switch on the system comprising nanopositioning stages, controllers etc. 5. Set parameters and switch on Nd-YAG laser 6. Execute machine program using Aerotech

material in a Y-shaped path relative to the focused femtosecond beam. This procedure is replicated here with nearly 100 times the magnification of a typical optical splitter device and other dimensions involved. The material modification is performed by Nd-YAG instead of a femtosecond laser. The Y-splitter requires precise control over the stage movement to avoid any slip over at the junction as its two branches are written at different time intervals. The dotted lines in laser modified surface are caused due to 5 Hz pulsed laser operation, as shown in fig. 5.

The ring resonator comprising a line touching a circle is written, shown in fig. 8(a). The near perfect circular pattern is suitable for several device applications.

Fig.8: (a) Ring resonator (b) 3D cone A more complex 3D pattern involving the use of lines and circles is drawn, as shown in fig. 8(b). The circle radius is decreased as its centre is translated in the vertical direction by pre-determined steps. The 3D pattern can be further improved by eliminating sections of hidden curve when viewed from the front. 4. CONCLUSION Nd-YAG laser integrated with an automated motion stages platform is used for micromachining on the surface of aluminium plate. The laser energy and stage movement is controlled to write various artworks on metal surface. The system capability to write various optical waveguide devices such as Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer is explored. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Fig.6: Mach-Zehnder interferometer written on Aluminium surface The square shaped spiral was written by moving X and Z stages alternately. During every step of direction change, the perpendicular distance between centre of spiral and direction of linear motion was incremented by a constant value. Slight error in identifying the correct coordinate at corners was observed, as shown in fig. 7. The authors are thankful to K. Chalapathi for his support to this work. They also acknowledge the support of Nilesh Shinde in preparing Aluminium plates with dull finish. REFERENCES 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/laser 2. S. Nolte, M. Will, J. Burghoff, T. Tuennermann, Femtosecond waveguide writing: A new avenue to three dimensional integrated optics, App. Phys. A 77, 109-111, 2003 3. Aerotech resource guide, http://www.aerotech. com/products/motion_control.html 4. Getting Started with MATLAB 7: A Quick Introduction for Scientists and Engineers, Rudra Pratap, Oxford University Press, 2005

Fig.5: Y-Splitter written on Aluminium surface The Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure consisting of a Y-splitter and a combiner is written on aluminium plate with 30 Joule pulsed laser beam. The plate moves linearly at 0.4 mm/sec velocity generating the desired structure with 1 mm line width, as shown in fig. 6.

Fig.7: Square shaped spiral

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