Digital Multimirror Devices for laser-based Manufacturing

该提案福尔斯属于光制造，并研究使用数字多镜设备（DMD）进行受控激光烧蚀加工，以及分别用于减材和增材激光制造的多光子聚合。我们将加工一系列材料，如金属、半导体、纸张、宝石等高价值物品，以及聚合物和生物相容性聚合物。DMD是计算机可寻址的反射镜阵列（通常每个芯片多达一百万个反射镜），其可以具有施加在阵列表面上的图案，例如字母，徽标甚至整页显示。然后，激光脉冲可以从图案化的反射镜阵列反射，并且图像在被引导到用于加工的工件之前缩小几个数量级。工件上的激光能量密度可以足够高，以在暴露区域中引起烧蚀材料去除或多光子聚合，从而“打印”DMD上显示的任何内容的缩小版本。基于激光的微米级（甚至更小）复杂图案的快速单次加工是一种新颖的工业相关工艺技术。该计划旨在将我们基于DMD的加工扩展到制造业，如安全，防伪，MEMS和硅光子学，生物相容性模板等领域。该计划将优化这种基于激光的加工技术，然后将其应用于确定的用户范围内最广泛的材料。我们将与工程师和技术人员以及需要快速，低成本和灵活加工技术的激光制造公司合作。

This proposal falls under the Manufacturing with light call and investigates the use of digital multimirror devices (DMDs) to perform controlled laser ablative machining, and multiphoton polymerisation for subtractive and additive laser-based manufacturing respectively. We will process a range of materials such as metals, semiconductors, paper, high value items such as gemstones, as well as polymers and biocompatible polymers. DMDs are computer-addressable arrays of reflective mirrors (typically up to one million mirrors per chip), which can have a pattern such as a letter, logo or even a full-page display imposed on the array surface. A laser pulse can then be reflected off the patterned mirror array and the image demagnified by several orders of magnitude before being directed to the workpiece intended for machining. The laser energy density at the workpiece can be high enough to cause ablative material removal or multiphoton polymerisation in the exposed regions, thereby 'printing' a minified version of whatever was displayed on the DMD. Rapid laser-based single-shot machining of complex patterns at micron (or even smaller) size scales is a novel and industrially-relevant process technology. The programme here is to extend our DMD-based machining to the manufacturing sector, in areas such as security, safety, anti-counterfeiting, MEMS and silicon photonics, biocompatible templates and more. The programme will optimise this laser-based processing technology and then apply it to the widest range of materials across the identified user spectrum. We will engage with engineers and technologists as well as laser-based manufacturing companies who have a need for rapid, low cost and flexible processing techniques.