Micromachining of transparent materials by laser-induced plasma-assisted ablation (LIPAA)

Laser-induced plasma-assisted ablation (LIPAA) process developed for glass materials has been applied for micromachining of a variety of transparent hard and soft materials. We have developed the proto-type LIPAA system using a second harmonic of diode pumped Q-switched Nd:YAG laser for the practical use. In this paper, micromachining and scribing of glass and sapphire is demonstrated using the developed system. Additionally, another application such as selective metallization of glass and polyimide with successive metal plating process is investigated. However, mechanism of this process is complex and still remains unknown. To have a better understanding of this process, double-pulse irradiation of a near-IR femtosecond (fs) laser with a delay time is also investigated. A possible mechanism is discussed based on the obtained results.