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

提案标题：购买用于微细加工的半导体泵浦固体激光器研究主要研究员：Willis，David A.机构：南方卫理公会大学提案编号：CBET-0828331摘要这笔NSF赠款用于购买一种将用于激光辅助微细加工研究的激光器。激光辅助微细加工是一种利用激光作为热源直接操纵物质产生微小结构的技术。尺寸以微米(百万分之一米)为单位的结构可以通过这些技术制造出来。在某些情况下，可以生成具有纳米级(十亿分之一米)特征的结构。激光微细加工的潜在工业应用包括电子和光学器件的制造以及生物医学设备的制造。该激光器将是南方卫理公会大学(SMU)激光微机械实验室的一部分，在那里它将用于激光微机械加工、激光毛化和材料沉积的基础和应用研究。这项研究的更广泛影响是加强了SMU的研究基础设施，以及本科生和研究生的教育。基础设施的加强是重要的，因为激光微机械加工实验室没有一台具有这笔赠款所获得的激光器能力的激光器。激光将增加可加工的材料类型，提高进行实验的速度，并降低可制造的最小结构尺寸。由于激光微细加工实验室的研究是由研究生和本科生进行的，因此机械工程系所有教育水平的学生都将接受这种激光的培训。此外，参加机械工程系NSF资助的本科生研究体验网站的本科生将获得激光的经验。这项研究的学术价值是激光-材料相互作用的各种基础研究，这些研究将通过科学文献向公众公开传播，包括激光微制造、激光-材料相互作用、激光微机械加工、基于激光的材料沉积和激光纹理。这项研究具有变革性，因为激光将被用于研究微米和纳米级制造的新方法。基于激光的微制造技术比其他方法使用更少的制造步骤，潜在地改变了在微米和纳米尺度上进行制造的方式。

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.