SBIR Phase II: Micro Laser Assisted Machining

这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目实现了一种创新的高生产率方法，以制造陶瓷、半导体和玻璃等硬质和脆性材料。这项提议的目标是在第一阶段成功可行性研究的基础上，展示一种高效和多产的方法，能够生产出具有优良部件质量的陶瓷和半导体。这种被称为微激光辅助加工(MICRO-LAM)的工艺，通过结合来自激光光源的优先热量和来自金刚石工具的极压，可以更便宜(~40-60%)、更快(2-5倍)、更好地加工和制造坚硬和脆性材料。目前制造这些材料的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其他性能较差的材料。这项工作的目标是通过在第二阶段结束前将微LAM技术商业化来解决这一未得到满足的需求。将在工业合作伙伴地点测试最低限度可行的产品，以获得第一手客户反馈，这是加快商业化进程的关键。该项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力将在半导体(微电子)制造、光学(镜面和窗口)以及精密机械产品(轴承和密封件)中感受到，在这些领域，需要先进的半导体和工程陶瓷材料的卓越性能才能达到性能标准。这项技术将使生产材料和产品的全新能力成为可能，目前由于工艺限制，这些材料和产品不可行或无法实现。微型LAM技术还具有新兴技术的潜在应用，如风力涡轮机和插电式电动汽车，这些领域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、先进陶瓷和玻璃部件制造，约为2.5亿美元，年增长率为15%。一旦在目标市场领域获得市场认可，微型LAM工具将投放到规模更大的钻石车床(DTM)市场，总规模为24亿美元。仅在美国就有大约10,000个DTM(每年推出约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).