Minimizing Stitching Errors for Large Area Laser Surface Processing

Direct laser writing is a well-known method for fabricating features in the micrometer scale on a large variety of materials. Several efforts for increasing the working field of a common direct-writing system have been made in the past. Basically, an improvement of the precision of used devices and the implementation of correction algorithms lead to achieve an acceptable accuracy over the complete working field. However, stitching strategies are needed to increase the working area as well as the precision. In this work, a procedure to facilitate the reduction of stitching deviations of a common direct-writing device for large areas has been developed. Using a novel vision system, deviations of the structures inside the working field are measured. Subsequently, different algorithms are used for reducing these stitching deviations. Preliminary results for a conventional laser micromachining device are presented here. Deviations were reduced between ~30% and ~80%.