At the Fraunhofer IZM, glass can be processed in a contactless manner using an industrial, hybrid laser system. A precise and reproducible processing is ensured. In addition, the processes described below can be combined.
General specifications:
A green short pulse laser (532 nm) enables processes such as drilling, free shape structuring, marking, engraving and stripping (removal of coatings/metallizations such as Cr, Al, Cu, ...) of glass. There a high aspect ratio can be realized. Due to the removal in layers, a limited three-dimensional structuring is also possible, e.g. for channels and cavities. The processing is freely programmable layout-based, no masks or similar are necessary.
Concrete Specifications:
A CO2 laser is used for stress-induced separation of glass (laser cutting). The laser beam heats the glass locally, followed by a controlled cooling. The resulting mechanical stress leads to a precise crack formation in the glass during the subsequent breaking. The result is a clean (no glass particles) and high quality cut with highest edge strength (break resistance), since no microcracks or chipping occur. Furthermore, there is no material loss. The high glass edge quality also allows direct optical coupling. Moreover, this method is distinguished by high cutting speeds and the elimination of further processing steps, e.g. grinding or polishing.
Concrete specifications:
Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM
