Dual-beam ablation of fused silica by multiwavelength excitation process using KrF excimer and F2 lasers

A new technique of dual-beam laser ablation of fused silica by multiwavelength excitation process using a 248-nm KrF excimer laser (ablation beam) coupled with a 157-nm F2 laser (excitation beam) in dry nitrogen atmosphere is reported. The dual-beam laser ablation greatly reduced debris deposition and, thus, significantly improved the ablation quality compared with single-beam ablation of the KrF laser. High-quality ablation can be achieved at the delay times of KrF excimer laser irradiation shorter than 10 ns due to a large excited-state absorption. The ablation rate can reach up to 80 nm/pulse at the fluence of 4.0 J/cm2 for the 248-nm laser and 60 mJ/cm2 for the F2 laser. The ablation threshold and effective absorption coefficient of KrF excimer laser are estimated to be 1.4 J/cm2 and 1.2×105 cm-1, respectively.