Sub-micron-scale femtosecond laser ablation using a digital micromirror device

Commercial digital multimirror devices offer a cheap and effective alternative to more expensive spatial light modulators for ablation via beam shaping. Here we present femtosecond laser ablation using the digital multimirror device from an Acer C20 Pico Digital Light Projector and show ablation of complex features with feature sizes ranging from sub-wavelength (400 nm) up to similar to 30 mu m. Simulations are presented that have been used to optimize and understand the experimentally observed resolution.