LASERS: THE H2O ADVANTAGE

Conventional cutting methods for preparing LTCC substrates face problems such as high operating costs, low process speeds and poor cut quality. To overcome these problems, manufacturers are increasingly turning to the use of water jet guided lasers. This hybrid tool uses a thin, stable water jet as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ceramic Industry 2004-12, Vol.154 (12), p.14-18
Main Authors: Perrottet, D, Amorosi, S, Housh, R, Richerzhagen, B
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Ablation
Ceramics
Ceramics industry
Crack propagation
Cutting tools
Dielectric properties
Integrated circuits
Lasers
Manufacturers
Manufacturing
Operating costs
Semiconductors
Water
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Summary:Conventional cutting methods for preparing LTCC substrates face problems such as high operating costs, low process speeds and poor cut quality. To overcome these problems, manufacturers are increasingly turning to the use of water jet guided lasers. This hybrid tool uses a thin, stable water jet as an optical waveguide. It combines the cooling effects of a water jet with the ablating ability of a laser beam (pulsed Nd:YAG lasers), and has recently been adapted to ceramic technologies. Besides its guiding function, the water jet provides a very low thermal load in the material, efficient expulsion of ablated material, and the absence of redeposited material on the sample. Since ceramics are hard to cut with lasers, the method is most effectively employed using the scribe-and-break approach. Typical parameters used for scribing ceramic substrates are tabulated. Excellent results have been achieved for different ceramics.
ISSN:0009-0220
2328-4072