Laser Induced Micro Plasma Processing (LIMP2)

用于医疗植入物或电子工业的陶瓷和聚合物等微机械加工材料正成为英国工业日益重要的活动。创造微米级的特征或在纳米级沉积涂层，使上述工业部门能够为以下应用开发新的解决方案：人体接受植入，或在触摸屏显示器上以高分辨率绘制薄导电层的图案，使手机所有者能够在旅行时观看电影。医疗设备和微电子领域的所有这些突破都是通过创造小特征来实现的。激光诱导微等离子体加工(LIMP2)将是一种使能工具，允许产生比实际激光光斑小的特征，其可以小于10微米。LIMP2还将允许激光用于到目前为止不可能用激光加工的材料。该项目的目的是了解等离子体、一种高能热气和激光如何在聚合物、玻璃、金属和陶瓷等不同基材的表面相互作用。它将试图回答这样的问题：“我们能否利用电场和磁场来控制等离子体与激光束的相互作用，并在这样做的过程中产生有趣的效果，使等离子体被挤压到比激光光斑直径更小的区域？”通过这样做，LIMP2将允许一种相对便宜的激光系统直接在纳米级上加工。LIMP2将引入一种新的制造技术，将用于制造高价值高性能电子产品。这将有利于激光光源进入电子生产机械市场的英国供应商。普通公众将在医疗保健方面看到的另一个好处。医学领域的一个重要应用是医疗植入物的微结构纹理，如支架和人工关节。LIMP2可以用来创造新的微结构，这种结构具有控制活细胞如何与植入物表面相互作用的特性。这种结构将允许一种类型的细胞生长，同时抑制其他类型的细胞，这将证明对患者的健康有害，导致关节肿胀和可能的植入物排斥反应。支持该项目的英国公司也将从该项目的成功结束中立即受益。两家激光公司正在合作支持该项目，一家总部设在英格兰中部，另一家设在英格兰西南部。LIMP2将为他们的激光系统打开新的市场，使他们能够在竞争激烈的远东微电子市场上竞争。支持公司Bimer Technology和MicroSystems的两个项目计划在医疗器械市场使用LIMP2，但使用的材料截然不同。生物科技公司生产一种聚合物涂层，他们用这种涂层来覆盖医疗设备。Bimer对可以控制细胞生长的LIMP2微加工表面很感兴趣。另一方面，微系统公司为大型制药公司生产微型模具。微系统看到LIMP2被用在他们的微型模具上，以产生亲水的(像水一样)或疏水的表面，排斥水分子。这种对表面属性的控制不仅在医疗设备部门非常有用，而且在航空航天、电子和国防工业等其他部门也非常有用。

Micromachining materials such as ceramics and polymers for use in the medical implant or electronics industry is becoming an increasingly important activity for UK industry. Creating features on the micron scale or depositing coatings on the nanoscale has enabled the above industrial sectors to develop new solutions to such applications as: the acceptance of implants by the human body or patterning of thin conduction layers on touch-screen displays at a high resolution, allowing the phone's owner to watch movies while travelling. All of these breakthroughs in medical devices and microelectronics, are made possible by the creation of small features. Laser Induced Micro Plasma Processing (LIMP2) will be an enabling tool allowing the production of features smaller than the actual laser spot which can be as less than 10 um. LIMP2 would also allow lasers to be used on materials that up to now have been impossible to machine by laser.The aim of the project is to develop an understanding of how a plasma, a highly energetic hot gas, and laser beam interact at the surface of different substrates such as polymers, glass, metals and ceramics. It will attempt to answer such questions as "Can we control the plasma-laser beam interaction using electrical and magnetic fields and in so doing create interesting effects that will allow the plasma to be pinched into an area that is smaller than the laser spot diameter"? In so doing LIMP2 will allow a relative inexpensive laser system to machine directly on the nanoscale. LIMP2 will introduce a new manufacturing technology that will be employed in the manufacturing of high value high performance electronic goods. This will benefit the UK suppliers of laser sources into the electronics production machine market. The other benefit that the general public will see in terms of healthcare. An important application in the medical field is microstructure texturing of medical implants such as stents and artificial joints. LIMP2 can be used to create novel microstructures that have the property of being able to control how a living cell interacts with the surface of the implant. The structures will allow one type of cell to grow while suppressing other types that would prove detrimental to the patient's health, causing swelling of a joint and possible rejection of the implant. The UK companies who are supporting the project will also gain immediate benefits from a successful conclusion of the project. Two laser companies are working together to support the project, one based in the Midlands the other in the South West of England. LIMP2 would open new markets for their laser systems allowing them to compete in the competitive microelectronics market in the Far East. Two of the projects supporting companies Biomer Technology and MicroSystems plan to use LIMP2 in medical devices market but on very different materials. Biomer Technology produces a polymeric coating that they use to coat medical devices. Biomer is interested in LIMP2 micro-machined surfaces that can control cell growth. MicroSystems on the other hand produce micro-moulds for major pharmaceutical companies. MicroSystems see LIMP2 being used on their micro-moulds to produce surfaces that are hydrophilic, (likes water) or hydrophobic, repels water molecules. This type of control over a surface property is very useful not only in the medical device sector but in other sectors such as aerospace, electronics, and the defence industry.