Nanostructure of Medical and Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Devices Using Ultrafast Lasers and Liquid Optics

这项研究的目标是将超快激光和非线性光学相结合，以实现纳米级结构材料的精确制造，而几乎没有附带的热损害。利用新兴的超快激光技术的纳米制造技术在医疗和MEMS器件制造中具有潜在的应用，包括血管成形术导管的纳米结构，MEMS中牺牲层的去除，以及洛氏硬度金刚石压头的制造。对短脉冲光束通过非线性光学传输的研究将研究自聚焦能力，这种自聚焦能力可能导致极不圆锥的小尺寸光束，预计将与原始光束一样具有能量。对这种光束与结构材料相互作用的基本了解将允许在纳米尺度上对材料进行受控烧蚀。纳米切割预计将通过脉冲光束沿着光轴移动的焦点来促进，从而提供通过烧蚀纳米焦点区域内的材料来创建无锥度特征的可能性。该项目的目标是通过限制热传导或质量流动来获得几乎或没有附带热损害的精密制造能力。该项目有可能将制造技术从微尺度扩展到介观尺度，并将与劳伦斯·利弗莫尔国家实验室和Clark-MXR，Inc.合作进行，这两家公司是超快激光微细加工技术的先驱。该项目将为研究生和本科生提供令人兴奋的机会，学习和整合与精密制造和激光物理有关的问题。研究仪器将促进大学目前无法提供的新的实验能力。

The objective of this research is to combine ultrafast lasers and nonlinear optics to enable precise fabrication of structural materials at the nanoscale, with little or no collateral thermal damage. Nanofabrication that takes advantage of emerging ultrafast laser technology has potential applications in medical and MEMS device manufacturing, which includes nanostructuring of angioplasty catheters, removal of sacrificial layers in MEMS, and fabrication of Rockwell hardness diamond indenters. Research into the transmission of the short-pulsed beam through nonlinear optics will investigate the self-focusing capabilities that can lead to extremely non-concial small-sized beams that are expected to be as energetic as the original beam. Fundamental understanding of the interaction of this beam with structural materials will allow controlled ablation of material at the nanometer scale. Nanometric cutting is expected to be facilitated by the resultant moving foci along the optical axis from the pulsed beam, offering the possibility of creating taper-free features by ablating material within a nanometer focal region. The objective is to obtain precise fabrication capabilities with little or no collateral thermal damage by limiting heat conduction or mass flow by the scale of the ablation.This project has the potential to extend the fabrication technology through the microscale to the mesoscale and will be performed in collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Clark-MXR, Inc, pioneers of the ultrafast laser technology for microfabrication. The project will offer exciting opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to learn and integrate issues related to precision manufacturing and laser physics. The research instrumentation will facilitate new experimental capabilities not currently available at the university.