Excimer laser ablation of glass-based arrayed microstructures for biomedical, mechanical, and optical applications

An excimer laser has been used for ablation of glass-based substrates for making arrayed microstructures. The arrayed microstructures are fabricated by repetition of a simple-patterned mask associated with substrate movement controlled by an x-y stage synchronizing with laser pulses. The associated ablation efficiency, specifically the impact of changing major laser parameters on the resulting microstructural shapes and morphology, has been studied. Several microstructures have been machined by this repetition technique to demonstrate that the use of a single-slotted mask indeed can be cost effective in prototyping of various glass-based arrayed microstructures. The single and arrayed microstructures developed include microracks, waveguides, microprobes, and microstamps; the specific applications of these microstructures in mechanical, optical and biomedical areas are also discussed. The associated ablation techniques for different application are described and demonstrated. The defocusing effects on forming different vertex shapes in microprobes are specifically illustrated. Finally, recommendations for future efforts and trends are presented.