Multibeam Healing for Laser Micromachining in Manufacturing

描述（由申请人提供）：由于具有降低成本的潜力，在医疗应用中使用激光制造方法具有相当大的兴趣。事实上，对于高分辨率医学成像中使用的脆性材料，如氧化硅酸镥（LSO）和氧化硅酸钆（GSO），激光的精度和低力特征使其成为传统加工方法的非常有吸引力的替代品。然而，在激光加工过程中，材料损坏，特别是微尺度开裂，是一个经常遇到的问题，导致成本增加，不必要的废料和性能/可靠性降低。为了消除闪烁体等脆性材料在激光加工过程中形成的微裂纹，我们提出了一种多光束激光修复技术的可行性。我们将使用同步多光束方法进行微加工和缺陷修复，以提高激光制造过程中的强度/可靠性。实验研究将由过程的有限元模型支持，包括损伤诱发热应力的计算。提出的激光愈合研究将显著提高激光加工的成品率和可靠性，从而降低成本。此外，由于激光像素化技术减少了像素间的间隙，将显著提高探测器的性能。因此，所提出的研究具有很大的商业意义，特别是对于高分辨率医学成像应用。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is a considerable interest in using laser-manufacturing methods for medical applications due to their potential to reduce cost. In fact, the precision and low-force signature of lasers makes them very attractive alternatives to traditional machining methods for brittle materials such as lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) and gadolinium oxyorthosilciate (GSO) used in high-resolution medical imaging. However, material damage, especially micro-scale cracking, during laser machining is a frequently encountered problem that results in added costs, needless scrap, and reduced performance/reliability. We propose to demonstrate the feasibility of developing a multibeam laser healing technique to eliminate micro-cracks formed during laser machining of brittle materials like scintillators. We will use a simultaneous multibeam approach for micromachining and defect healing to improve the strength/reliability during laser manufacturing. Experimental investigations will be supported by finite-element modeling of the process including the calculation of damage inducing thermal-stresses. The proposed research on laser healing will significantly improve both yield and reliability during laser machining, resulting in an order of magnitude reduction in cost. Additionally, the reduced inter-pixel gaps resulting from the laser pixelation technique will significantly improve detector performance. Therefore, the proposed research has great commercial relevance, especially for high-resolution medical imaging applications.