Advanced laser processing technologies for fabrication of functional microdevices

Abstract

The ultrasfast laser enables high-quality processing that is not achieved with conventional lasers due to ultrashort pulse width. Furthermore, the extremely high peak intensity, allowing nonlinear absorption by transparent materials, make it possible to construct complex three-dimensional micro- and nanostructures. The laser beam shaping can further improve the processing performance. This review describes the three-dimensional processing technology inside the transparent materials, hybrid laser processing technology, and beam shaping technology developed by the author using ultrasfast lasers. The applications of the developed techniques to the fabrication of 3D microfluidic devices, high-sensitivity analysis chip, and through-glass holes are then introduced.