Acquisition of a Diode-Pumped Solid-State Laser for MicroFabrication Research

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Proposal Title: Acquisition of a Diode-Pumped Solid-State Laser for MicroFabrication ResearchPrincipal Investigator: Willis, David A.Institution: Southern Methodist UniversityProposal No: CBET-0828331AbstractThis NSF grant funds the acquisition of a laser that will be utilized for laser-assisted microfabrication research. Laser-assisted microfabrication is a group of technologies that uses a laser as a heat source for directly manipulating matter to generate small structures. Structures with dimensions measured in micrometers (one-millionth of a meter) may be fabricated by these techniques. In some cases, structures with nanometer-scale (one-billionth of a meter) features can be generated. Potential industrial applications of laser microfabrication include electronic and optical device fabrication and manufacturing of biomedical devices. The laser will be part of the Laser Micromachining Laboratory at Southern Methodist University (SMU), where it will be used for fundamental and applied studies of laser micromachining, laser texturing, and materials deposition. The broader impacts of this research are enhancement of the research infrastructure at SMU and education of undergraduate and graduate students. The enhancement of infrastructure is significant, since the Laser Micromachining Laboratory does not have a laser with the capabilities of the laser acquired by this grant. The laser will increase the types of materials that can be processed, increase the speed at which experiments are performed, and decrease the minimum structure size the can be fabricated. Since research in the Laser Micromachining Laboratory is performed by graduate and undergraduates, students at all educational levels in the Mechanical Engineering Department will receive training on this laser. Additionally, undergraduate students participating in the NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates Site in the Department of Mechanical Engineering will gain experience with the laser. The intellectual merit of the research is the diverse array of fundamental research in laser-material interactions that will be openly disseminated to the public through scientific literature, including laser microfabrication, laser-material interactions, laser micromachining, laser-based materials deposition, and laser texturing. The research is transformative in that the laser will be used to study new ways of manufacturing at the micro- and nanoscale. Laser-based microfabrication techniques use fewer manufacturing steps than other methods, potentially changing the way manufacturing is performed at the micro- and nanoscale.