SBIR Phase II: Micro Laser Assisted Machining

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目为制造陶瓷，半导体和玻璃等硬脆材料提供了一种创新的高生产力方法。该提案的目的是在成功的第一阶段可行性研究的基础上，展示一种高效、多产的方法，可以制造具有优异零件质量的陶瓷和半导体。该工艺被称为微激光辅助加工（micro-LAM），通过结合激光源的优先热量和金刚石工具的极端压力，可以更便宜（约40-60%），更快（2 - 5倍），更好地加工和制造硬脆材料。制造这些材料的现有技术需要大量的加工时间来获得良好的零件质量，这是不经济的。对高端陶瓷和半导体的需求不断增加;然而，高昂的生产成本迫使制造商使用性能较差的其他材料。 这项工作的目标是通过在第二阶段结束时将微型LAM技术商业化来解决这一未满足的需求。最小可行产品将在工业合作伙伴现场进行测试，以获得第一手客户反馈，这是加速商业化进程的关键。该项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力将在半导体领域得到体现。（微电子）制造，光学（镜子和窗户）和精密机械产品（轴承和密封件），其中需要先进半导体和工程陶瓷材料的上级性能以达到性能标准。这项技术将使目前由于加工限制而不可行或无法实现的材料和产品的生产具有全新的能力。微型LAM技术还具有新兴技术的潜在应用，例如风力涡轮机和插电式电动汽车，这些技术需要先进设备的高功率和高温运行。目前的目标市场规模，包括光学、半导体、先进陶瓷和玻璃零件制造，约为2.5亿美元，年增长率为15%。一旦在目标细分市场建立市场接受度，微型LAM刀具将进入更大的金刚石车削机床（DTM）市场，总规模为24亿美元。 仅在美国就有大约10，000个DTM（每年引入约500个新工具）。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project enables an innovative high-productivity approach to manufacturing hard and brittle materials like ceramics, semiconductors, and glass. The objective of this proposal is to build on the successful Phase I feasibility study to demonstrate an efficient and productive method that could manufacture ceramic and semiconductors with excellent part quality. The process, termed Micro-Laser Assisted Machining (micro-LAM), allows a cheaper (~40-60%), faster (by two to five times), and better method of machining and manufacturing hard and brittle materials by combining the preferential heat from a laser source and extreme pressure from a diamond tool. The status quo technology for manufacturing these materials requires extensive machining hours to obtain good part quality, which is not economical. The demand for high-end ceramics and semiconductors is continuously increasing; however, high production costs have forced manufacturers to use other materials with inferior properties. The goal of this effort is to address this unmet need by commercializing the micro-LAM technology by the end of Phase II. A minimum viable product will be tested at industrial partner sites to obtain firsthand customer feedback, which is key to accelerating the commercialization process.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be felt in semiconductor (microelectronics) manufacturing, optics (mirrors and windows), and precision mechanical products (bearing and seals), where the superior properties of advanced semiconductor and engineered ceramic materials are required to achieve performance criteria. This technology will enable entirely new capabilities for production of materials and products currently not viable or achievable due to processing limitations. The micro-LAM technology also has potential applications for emerging technologies, such as wind turbines and plug-in electric vehicles, where high-power and high-temperature operation of advanced devices is required. The current target market size, including optics, semiconductor, advanced ceramics and glass parts manufacturing, is approximately $250 million, with a 15%/year growth rate. Once market acceptance is established in the target market segment, the micro-LAM tooling will be launched into the larger diamond turning machine (DTM) market, with a total size of $2.4 billion. There are approximately 10,000 DTMs in the United States alone (with ~ 500 new tools introduced per year).