157nm Laser Micro-machining Process And NC Auto-programming

157nm deep ultraviolet (DUV) laser has shorter wavelength among excimer lasers. Due to its higher photon energy, this laser can directly hit off the chemical bonds of super-hard ceramics and semiconductor materials, leading in little thermo-effect. It can get very high processing resolution because of its short wavelength, especially suitable for fabricating fine 2D graphics and 3D micro-structures. For this reason, the 157nm laser could be a promising and powerful tool for micro-device fabrication. However, 157nm DUV laser is easily absorbed in air, increasing the complexity of related equipments and optical system. Until now, the studies on the etching mechanism and processing technique of 157nm laser are very insufficient, especially in area of 157nm laser 3D micro-structuring. Therefore, it is very important and valuable to explore 157nm laser micro-machining technology of complex graphics.The current CAM system can not deal with NC programming of 157nm laser machining, especially when the etched patterns are complex. For this real need, a software system of auto-programming for 157nm laser machining is developed, supporting the fabrication of complex 2D graphics and 3D micro-structures. Using the software, many micro-etching experiments are carried out, the topographies of etched surface are observed, and optimizing process parameters are decided, to improve the etching quality. The software system would enlarge the application space of 157nm DUV laser, and has higher academic value and application value.In this paper, the micromachining characteristics of 157nm laser are investigated under mask projection machining mode and laser direct writing mode. A software system about NC auto-programming is developed. The primary research contents are as following:(1) The micro-machining characteristics and applications of 157nm DUV laser are described. The mechanism of interaction between 157nm laser and non-metallic materials is discussed. And, the influences of the process parameters on micromachining effect are analyzed.(2) Considering on the complexity of relations between 157nm laser process parameters and etching performance, some ideal combinations of laser process parameters are obtained through establishing models based on artificial neural network and its optimization models based on genetic algorithms.(3) Referring on the special codes of M2000 system, an auto-programming software system named as "157nm-AutoProm System"is developed under Visual Basic development environment. And micro-etching experiments are performed by the developed software. Based on theoretical analysis of key modules, and combining with repeat experimental approach, the software performance has been improved.