Abstract
A new regime for silica glass machining for micro-optical fabrication applications, which uses pulsed CO2 laser radiation in the 2.5-100-µs pulse width region that has been generated by an acousto-optic modulator, is investigated. A filamentary melt ejection process that generates fibers and significant melt displacement limits machining quality below 30-µs pulse width. Ablation and melt ejection thresholds are quantified relative to pulse width, and the region from 30 to 50 µs is identified for low-threshold, smooth machining without melt displacement and ejection effects. © 2002 Optical Society of America.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 5660-5667 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Applied Optics |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 27 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 20 Sept 2002 |