4.6 Article

Optimization of selective laser etching (SLE) for glass micromechanical structure fabrication

Journal

OPTICS EXPRESS
Volume 29, Issue 15, Pages 23487-23499

Publisher

OPTICAL SOC AMER
DOI: 10.1364/OE.430623

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Funding

  1. European Regional Development Fund [01.2.2-LMT-K-718-03-0029]
  2. Research Council of Lithuania

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This work demonstrates the use of femtosecond laser-based selective glass etching for fabricating 3D structures out of a single piece of glass, with investigation into the etching process and production of complex glass structures. The study includes the creation of a movable ball-joint-based chain and a magnet-actuated Geneva mechanism capable of rotating up to 2000 RPM.
In this work, we show how femtosecond (fs) laser-based selective glass etching (SLE) can be used to expand capabilities in fabricating 3D structures out of a single piece of glass. First, an investigation of the etching process is performed, taking into account various laser parameters and scanning strategies. These results provide critical insights into the optimization of the process allowing to increase manufacturing throughput. Afterward, various complex 3D glass structures such as microfluidic elements embedded inside the volume of glass or channel systems with integrated functional elements are produced. A single helix spring of 1 mm diameter is also made, showing the possibility to compress it by 50%. Finally, 3D structuring capabilities are used to produce an assembly-free movable ball-joint-based chain and magnet-actuated Geneva mechanism. Due to minimized friction caused by low (down to 200 nm RMS) surface roughness of SLE-produced structures, the Geneva mechanism was shown to be capable of rotating up to 2000 RPM. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

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