Scientists Working On Laser Etching Microstructurees Into Thin Glass

Ultrafast lasers have introduced new possibilities in engraving ultrafine structures, and scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute are now also investigating how to use them to etch microstructures into thin glass. There are possible applications in analytics (lab on a chip) and especially in electronics and the consumer sector, where great interest has been shown. Scientists working on laser etching microstructures into thin glass. This new method was born of a surprising phenomenon: irradiating glass in a particular way with an ultrafast laser has the effect of making the glass up to a thousand times more sensitive to subsequent wet chemical etching. This means it is possible to guide a laser beam focused to a diameter of a few micrometers through a glass block and subsequently etch a fine tube through the volume of the glass. The method can be used to create the tiniest of holes, to etch complete microfluidic systems into the glass, or to make cuts with extremely high surface quality. The technology means potential applications from biomedicine to electronics. To read this press release in full, please visit: www.ilt.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/ilt/en/documents/Publication-and-Press...