We present simple formulas for the diffraction efficiencies of a binary phase grating that performs array illumination with ultrashort laser pulses. Using scalar diffraction theory, we formulated the efficiencies as a function of pulse spectral width by Fourier-transforming the complex-modulated frequency spectra of diffracted pulses in the far-field region. From the analytical simulations, we found that pulse array uniformity departs from unity as the spectral width increases, or the pulse duration decreases, thereby limiting the attainable split counts. This finding can be considered in the design of gratings for delivering controlled amounts of pulse energies to diffraction orders of interest.
We propose a cascade optical system for multifocusing ultrashort pulse beams. In this system, diffractive and refractive subsystems that are optically coupled in cascade correct chromatic aberrations, a phase plate compensates for angular dispersions, and material dispersions are removed by pre-chirping the input pulse. Achromaticity of the system is essential for simultaneous compensation of spatio-temporal pulse distortions. We designed a system by applying the aberration correction conditions derived from an ABCD-matrix analysis. The designed system was evaluated with 20-fs pulses by characterizing the transmitted pulses in beam width and pulse duration to verify the proposed distortion compensation scheme. This technology enables high-throughput ultrafast laser processing.
We report a novel diffractive beam splitter designed for use in parallel laser processing with two different wavelengths. This element generates two beam arrays of the two wavelengths and enables their overlap at the process points on a workpiece. To design the deep surface-relief profile of a splitter using a simulated annealing method, we introduce a heuristic but practical scheme to determine the maximum height and the number of quantization levels. The designed corrugations were formed in photoresist by maskless grayscale exposure using a high-resolution spatial light modulator. We evaluated the optical properties of the resist splitter, thereby validating the proposed beam delivery concept.
In this paper, we demonstrate a dual-wavelength diffractive beam splitter to be used in parallel laser processing. The novel optical element, which is formed in a transparent material, generates two beam arrays at different wavelengths and allows their overlap at the process points on a workpiece. Since the splitter has a stochastically designed, complex, and deep surface profile, there is limited freedom in selecting a fabrication method. We designed the splitter using a simulated annealing algorithm and fabricated it in a photoresist through maskless exposure by using a digital micromirror device. We characterized the designed splitter, thereby corroborating the proposed beam-splitting concept.
We report a light-dispersing device comprised of two transmission gratings and a wave plate. The gratings split the light incident at the Bragg angle into two orthogonally polarized components. The wave plate, which is placed between the gratings, functions as a polarization converter for oblique illumination. Appropriate assembly of these optical parts results in efficient diffraction of the unpolarized light with high spectral resolution. Using coupled-wave theories and Mueller matrix analysis, we constructed a device with a grating period of 400 nm for the spectral range of 680 ± 50 nm. We verified the proposed polarization-independent light-dispersing concept from the evaluation of this device.
We report a non-digitized diffractive beam splitter with a split count of 45, a 95% splitting efficiency, and a 0.90
splitting uniformity. The splitter was iteratively designed and was created on fused silica by laser writing lithography.
Antireflection coatings were added to the splitter to ensure high efficiency. This splitter was applied to the manufacture
of inkjet printer heads, in which silicon wafers were drilled with a 532-nm, nanosecond pulse laser with an average
output of 10 W and were wet-etched to produce microfluidic channels. We also discuss large beam arrays for process
throughput and subwavelength structures formed on the splitter for efficient laser power use.
We demonstrate the use of ultraviolet (UV) laser lithography in the production of subwavelength metal gratings. A laser writing system with a 413-nm Kr laser is used to write patterns on a resist-coated fused silica substrate mounted on a rotating table with a linear slider. One- and two-dimensional patterns are written in the resist at a selected sampling pitch or grating period, and the substrate is dry etched and coated with Au to obtain metallized gratings. Surface plasmon resonance dips, which appear in the reflectance spectra of the gratings, shift depending on the orientation of the incident polarization, because the gratings lack perfect symmetry owing to a system-induced skew in the writing beam. This dip shift can be considered tolerable when the gratings are used as a signal enhancer in Raman sensing applications. We conclude that UV laser writing based on polar coordinates is a candidate method for surface structuring on submicron scales. Devising a method to attain an unskewed beam will be the subject of future work.
We demonstrated the use of ultraviolet (UV) laser lithography in the production of subwavelength structures. A laser
writing system with a 413-nm Kr laser was used to write patterns on a resist-coated fused silica substrate mounted on a rotating table with a linear slider. One- and two-dimensional patterns were written on the resist at a fixed sampling
frequency, and then, the substrate was dry etched and coated with Au to obtain metallized gratings. Surface plasmon
resonance dips, which appeared in the reflectance spectra of the gratings, shifted for different orientations of the incident linear polarization. However, this dip shift can be considered tolerable for practical purposes, provided that the gratings that couple light with surface plasmons are used as a near-field enhancer. Hence, we concluded that UV laser writing based on polar coordinates is a candidate method for submicron-scale structuring.
Highly efficient diffractive beam splitters surface-structured on submicron scale are presented. Submicron relief
structures formed on the surfaces of a splitter work as an anti-reflective layer to improve the beam-splitting efficiency.
Surface structuring is conducted using deep-UV, liquid-immersion interference lithography and dry etching. Rigorously
designed structures with a period of 140 nm and a depth of 55 nm are lithographed onto fused-silica splitters. Splitting
efficiencies at 266 nm are increased by 8% to agree favorably with a theoretical value, while Fresnel reflections are
substantially reduced. Surface-structured beam splitters reported here are of great use in industrial machining
applications using high-power pulsed lasers.
Interference exposure using a deep-UV laser in combination with dry etching is instrumental in manufacturing subwavelength patterns used at visible wavelengths. For well resolved patterns, interference fringes must be held still during exposure to achieve a high fringe contrast. Two-beam interference exposure requires a lot of space and equipment to build stable optics and produce patterns on an industrial scale. On the other hand, hologram mask exposure is
theoretically far more robust in unfavorable surrounding conditions since a resist layer is placed directly beneath the
mask. To produce good-quality resist patterns by using hologram masks, two issues need to be addressed. First, light reflections occurring at interfaces between the mask, the air gap and the resist need to be reduced to secure a high uniformity of exposure intensity. Second, only two diffraction beams should be generated to make an interference field with a high fringe visibility. What mask configurations should be chosen depends on what patterns are to be made. The best answer to produce sub-100-nm patterns is using a hologram mask in Bragg geometry and filling the air gap with a
high-index liquid.
We demonstrate a laser-based micro-bonding method for Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) that enables
practically sufficient joint strength, while securing the output power before bonding. VCSELs have great potential for
optical interconnects because of their low threshold current and high-speed modulation capability. As for packaging of
VCSELs, flip-chip bonding (FCB), among others, has been investigated because it facilitates the coupling of laser
emission into fibers and waveguides. Conventional schemes for FCB, however, entail thermo-compressing stages and
therefore the thermal and mechanical stresses involved are prone to cause defects in the lasing media, leading to quality
defects. To overcome this problem, we have come up with a modified FCB method that can reduce such stress by
employing laser irradiation to efficiently heat joints minimizing heat-affected regions. A micro-bonding system used in
the experiments has an infrared fiber laser for heating, a diffractive beam splitter for parallel processing, a mounting head,
and a slider for precise alignment and translation. VCSEL pads are kept in contact with counter pads on a substrate with
AuSn solder placed between them. The split and focused beams by the element are guided to strike the joining points
through the substrate, heating and melting the solder to attain a tight joint.
Optical elements with subwavelength structures (SWSs) may function as anti-reflection layers, wave plates, or
polarizers. In this study, the authors focus on a pair of two-beam interference lithography systems for fabricating SWS
optical elements. These systems have different optical configurations for forming the interference fields required for
exposure. The first lithography system described herein creates an interference field by splitting a laser beam with a half-mirror
and then superimposing the two resulting beams on a substrate after they propagate through free space. A resist
pattern with a period of 140 nm is formed across a 4-inch substrate using a 266-nm CW laser. The other lithography
system employs a high-density holographic grating. The two diffracted light waves (0th order and 1st order) produced by
the holographic grating generate an interference field in close proximity to the holographic grating, thus enabling a more
compact exposure system and a stable lithography process. The desired nano-pattern is obtained by exposing the resist
with the 266-nm CW laser using a 140-nm-pitched holographic grating. This research demonstrates the potential of two-beam
interference lithography as a viable process for manufacturing SWS optical elements used with the visible
spectrum.
As a means to accomplish high-throughput and damage-free processes, non-digitized diffractive beam splitters are effectual: they can afford to fully suppress undesired diffraction beams by containing as much light energy as possible
in a fan-out of beams meant for the process. The surface-relief structures of the splitters are designed using a Fourier-
iterative algorithm and are formed on high-quality fused silica substrates using direct laser writing and reactive ion
etching. For a 13-beam splitter, for example, a non-digitized element gives an efficiency of 97% with SN=38, whereas a
binary counterpart is as efficient as 78% with SN=5, where SN is defined as the ratio between the minimum of the fanout
beam intensities and the maximum of higher-order diffraction intensities. We have tested these two types of
elements in laser-cutting experiments and verified that the non-digitized element is far superior to the binary element.
Diffraction-free beams having a large depth of focus are of great merit in laser-based processes in which light-matter interaction is to occur in an extended region along the beam path. We have investigated two kinds of processes that use a diffraction-free beam known as a zero-order Bessel beam: 1) Laser-drilling metal films coated on a substrate to make pinholes therein using nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. Given an uneven surface of the substrate, the beam irradiation point, or the process point, would be displaced from a right position. By using the Bessel beams holes ~2 mm in diameter can be formed despite the displacement of ~2 mm or more. 2) Laser-exposing bulk glass to form modifications inside using femtosecond laser pulses at 800 nm. The pulses must be temporally stretched to save their energy from being used up because of multi-photon absorption. The Bessel pulses can modify through glasses ~3 mm thick in a width of <5 mm. We have developed a new set of formulas to calculate the Bessel fields, which are generated by diffractive optical elements. The elements are designed to convert a Gaussian beam efficiently into an approximate form of the zero-order Bessel beam and are fabricated on fused quartz by direct laser writing and reactive-ion etching.
Indispensable in laser-processing applications is an accurate and efficient delivery of light energy to process points. For mass production, multi-beam parallel processing is a must to gain high throughput. Diffractive optics is a competitive and cost-effective solution to achieve these goals. A diffractive optical element (DOE) is able to offer various light-control functions such as focusing, splitting and shaping according to the user’s requests. These elements can be utilized in a compact and convenient optical system. Thus laser-processing technologies using diffractive optics can be easily brought into manufacturing settings. We present four laser-based processes, each of which adopts diffractive optics in a distinctive way. They are 1) laser drilling of silicon wafers using a diffractive array illuminator to form microcavities for inkjet printers, 2) laser cutting of metal films using a diffractive focusator to produce liquid-crystal display panels for mobile phones, 3) laser soldering of quartz oscillators using a diffractive beam duplicator onto printed circuits set in wristwatches, and 4) laser sealing of packages using diffraction patterns to house electronic components therein. Some of these processes are at work routinely in our manufacturing plants.
We present a grating array illuminator that serves at two different wavelengths. The grating was designed by simulated annealing method and drawn in photoresist by direct laser lithography that we have developed on optical disk mastering technology. Upon grating reconstruction with two chosen wavelengths, 1064 and 532 nm, from Nd:YAG lasers, two arrays of 9 split beams with the same pitch were reconstructed. The illuminator performance was found rather sensitive to profile errors, which was supported by computer analysis.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.