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Introduction
Cold Ablation Technology
It is known for a long time that picosecond level laser (<20ps) gives clear advantages in material deposition. The heat effect zone in the target material is minimal because the material is directly deposited in electrons and protons and there is no melting process.
By focusing the laser into a 20 um beam for a short period of time, the deposition energy level becomes high enough for cold ablation process. The deposited material shoots away at very high speed upwards from the target. The result of this process is clean cut without any debris.
In the process most of the energy is converted to material deposition and the Heat Affected Zone is therefore minimal compared to ie. Q-switched lasers, where most of the laser energy is converted into heat. It is important to keep the Heat Affected Zone at a minimum because it has a substantial impact on die strength
Until now the complexity of picosecond lasers and difficult integration have posed a problem. With the new generation of ultra short pulse fiber laser these challenges have been overcome and the result is a compact, reliable and cost-effective solution for semiconductor tooling applications.