System integration for laser restructuring

The Center for Microelectronics Research (CMR) at the University of South Florida has pursued the development of new technologies in the area of high density interconnects. The laser restructuring of electronic circuits, fabricated using standard Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) process techniques, is an excellent alternative for custom programming of electronic circuits that allows for low cost and quick turn around of the restructured parts. A Laser System for restructuring Electronic Systems has been integrated using state of the art hardware components. This Laser System is fully computer controlled using a newly developed Microsoft Windows based software application running on a 486-66 MHz IBM compatible computer. The laser system consists of a high energy 5 watt Argon CW laser, a 2 watt double frequency pulsed Nd:YAG laser, a blocking shutter, electro-optic shutter (EOS), optic delivery system, a high precision x-y translation stage, and a video camera system used to observe the surface under laser processing. All the system components are mounted on granite table installed on four self leveling pneumatic legs for a vibration free process environment. The z-axis mechanisms consists of a stepper motor based translation stage for automatic focus controls. All control software was written using C++ programming language utilizing the power of readily available plug in boards which provide resources such as: counters, timers, image processing and IEEE-488 interfacing for remote laser control. The control environment exhibits a high degree of consistency with widely accepted visually programmed graphical 'point- and-click' interfaces.