Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090242522 | PHOTONIC MILLING USING DYNAMIC BEAM ARRAYS - A laser processing system includes a beam positioning system to align beam delivery coordinates relative to a workpiece. The beam positioning system generates position data corresponding to the alignment. The system also includes a pulsed laser source and a beamlet generation module to receive a laser pulse from the pulsed laser source. The beamlet generation module generates a beamlet array from the laser pulse. The beamlet array includes a plurality of beamlet pulses. The system further includes a beamlet modulator to selectively modulate the amplitude of each beamlet pulse in the beamlet array, and beamlet delivery optics to focus the modulated beamlet array onto one or more targets at locations on the workpiece corresponding to the position data. | 10-01-2009 |
20090242531 | PHOTONIC CLOCK STABILIZED LASER COMB PROCESSING - Processing a workpiece with a laser includes generating laser pulses at a first pulse repetition frequency. The first pulse repetition frequency provides reference timing for coordination of a beam positioning system and one or more cooperating beam position compensation elements to align beam delivery coordinates relative to the workpiece. The method also includes, at a second pulse repetition frequency that is lower than the first pulse repetition frequency, selectively amplifying a subset of the laser pulses. The selection of the laser pulses included in the subset is based on the first pulse repetition frequency and position data received from the beam positioning system. The method further includes adjusting the beam delivery coordinates using the one or more cooperating beam position compensation elements so as to direct the amplified laser pulses to selected targets on the workpiece. | 10-01-2009 |
20090245301 | LASER MICROMACHINING USING PROGRAMMABLE PULSE SHAPES - Laser pulse shaping techniques produce tailored laser pulse spectral output. The laser pulses can be programmed to have desired pulse widths and pulse shapes (such as sub-nanosecond to 10 ns-20 ns pulse widths with 1 ns to several nanoseconds leading edge rise times). Preferred embodiments are implemented with one or more electro-optical modulators receiving drive signals that selectively change the amount of incident pulsed laser emission to form a tailored pulse output. Triggering the drive signal from the pulsed laser emission suppresses jitter associated with other stages of the link processing system and substantially removes jitter associated with pulsed laser emission build-up time. | 10-01-2009 |
20090245302 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR DYNAMICALLY GENERATING TAILORED LASER PULSES - Processing workpieces such as semiconductor wafers or other materials with a laser includes selecting a target to process that corresponds to a target class associated with a predefined temporal pulse profile. The temporal pulse profile includes a first portion that defines a first time duration, and a second portion that defines a second time duration. A method includes generating a laser pulse based on laser system input parameters configured to shape the laser pulse according to the temporal pulse profile, detecting the generated laser pulse, comparing the generated laser pulse to the temporal pulse profile, and adjusting the laser system input parameters based on the comparison. | 10-01-2009 |
20100316072 | METHODS FOR STABILIZING THE OUTPUT OF A PULSED LASER SYSTEM HAVING PULSE SHAPING CAPABILITIES - Methods stabilize the output of a pulsed laser system using pulse shaping capabilities. In some embodiments, transient effects following a transition between a QCW regime and a pulse shaping regime are mitigated by ensuring that the average QCW optical power substantially corresponds to the average pulsed optical power outputted in a steady-state operation of the pulsed laser system in the pulse shaping regime. The QCW signal or the pulse shaping signal may be adapted for this purpose. In other embodiments, transient effects associated with non-process pulses emitted between series of consecutive process pulses are mitigated through the proper use of sequential pulse shaping. | 12-16-2010 |
20110170163 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE SPATIAL TAILORING OF LASER LIGHT USING TEMPORAL PHASE MODULATION - Laser systems and methods for providing an output light beam having a target spatial pattern are provided. A light generating module generates an input light beam, whose spectral profile is then tailored by imposing thereon a controllable phase modulation. The obtained spectrally tailored light beam is dispersed, using at least one spatially-dispersive element to provide an output light beam having a spatial profile which is a function of the spectral profile of the spectrally tailored light beam, The phase modulation is selected in view of the spectral profile of the input light beam and of the dispersion characteristics of the at least one spatially-dispersive element so that the spatial pattern of the output light beam matches the target spatial pattern therefor. | 07-14-2011 |
20110170564 | FIBER LASER OSCILLATORS AND SYSTEMS USING AN OPTIMIZED PHASE VARYING FUNCTION - A pulsed fiber laser oscillator and laser systems incorporating such laser oscillators are presented. The laser oscillator first includes a light generating module which generates optical pulses having an initial spectral profile. A spectrum tailoring module tailors the initial spectral profile of the optical pulses by imposing a phase variation on each optical pulse according to an optimized phase varying function. The optimized phase varying function has one of a rectified sinusoidal shape, a parabolic shape and a rectified parabolic shape. Laser systems incorporating such oscillators may be of a MOPA configuration, and may further include a nonlinear crystal for frequency conversion or a bulk solid-state amplifier. | 07-14-2011 |
20110284507 | METHOD FOR STABLIZING AN OUTPUT OF A PULSED LASER SYSTEM USING PULSE SHAPING - A method for stabilizing an output of a pulsed laser system includes a directly modulated laser diode by mitigating the effect of switching transients on the temporal shape of the outputted pulses. The method includes controlling a pulse shaping signal to define, over time, processing and conditioning periods. During the processing periods, the pulse shaping signal has an amplitude profile tailored to produce the desired temporal shape of the output. Each conditioning period either immediately precedes or follows a processing period. During a given processing period, the amplitude profile of the pulse shaping signal is tailored so that the drive current of the laser diode is lower than its maximum value during the corresponding processing period, and is of the same order of magnitude as the laser threshold current of the laser diode. In this manner, the stability of the output during the corresponding processing period is improved. | 11-24-2011 |
20120092755 | TANDEM PHOTONIC AMPLIFIER - Embodiments of laser systems advantageously use pulsed optical fiber-based laser source ( | 04-19-2012 |
20130244449 | Methods and Apparatus For Patterning Photovoltaic Devices and Materials For Use With Such Devices - A picosecond laser beam shaping assembly is disclosed for shaping a picosecond laser beam for use in patterning (e.g., scribing) semiconductor devices. The assembly comprises a pulsed fibre laser source of picosecond laser pulses, a harmonic conversion element for converting laser pulses at a first laser wavelength having a first spectral bandwidth to laser pulses at a second laser wavelength having a second spectral bandwidth, and a beam shaping apparatus for shaping the laser beam at the second laser wavelength, the beam shaping apparatus having a spectral bandwidth that substantially corresponds to the second spectral bandwidth so as to produce a laser beam having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional profile. | 09-19-2013 |
20130327389 | Chalcopyrite -Type Semiconductor Photovoltaic Device - A method comprising providing a layer structure for a photovoltaic device, the layer structure comprising an electrode, a light absorber comprising a layer of chalcopyrite-type semiconductor material, such as copper indium gallium diselenide, disposed on the electrode and a transparent electrode disposed on the light absorber. The method also comprises delivering a spatially-shaped picosecond pulsed laser beam so as to remove material from a region of the transparent electrode so as to expose at least a portion of the light absorber. | 12-12-2013 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090011614 | RECONFIGURABLE SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURE PROCESSING USING MULTIPLE LASER BEAM SPOTS - Methods and systems selectively irradiate structures on or within a semiconductor wafer using multiple laser beams. The structures may be laser-severable conductive links, and the purpose of the irradiation may be to sever selected links. The structures are arranged in rows and may be processed in either an on-axis mode or a cross-axis mode. In the on-axis mode, the beam spots fall on structures in the same row as they move along the row. In the cross-axis mode, the beam spots fall on structures in different rows as they move along the rows. | 01-08-2009 |
20100084662 | SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURE PROCESSING USING MULTIPLE LASER BEAM SPOTS OVERLAPPING LENGTHWISE ON A STRUCTURE - Methods and systems use laser pulses to process a selected structure on or within a semiconductor substrate. The structure has a surface, a width, and a length. The laser pulses propagate along axes that move along a scan beam path relative to the substrate as the laser pulses process the selected structure. The method simultaneously generates on the selected structure first and second laser beam pulses that propagate along respective first and second laser beam axes intersecting the selected structure at distinct first and second locations. The first and second laser beam pulses impinge on the surface of the selected structure respective first and second beam spots. Each beam spot encompasses at least the width of the selected link. The first and second beam spots are spatially offset from one another along the length of the selected structure to define an overlapping region covered by both the first and the second beam spots and a total region covered by one or both of the first and second beam spots. The total region is larger than the first beam spot and also larger than the second beam spot. The method sets respective first and second energy values of the first and second laser beam pulses to cause complete depthwise processing of the selected structure across the width of the structure in at least a portion of the total region. | 04-08-2010 |
20100089881 | SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURE PROCESSING USING MULTIPLE LATERALLY SPACED LASER BEAM SPOTS DELIVERING MULTIPLE BLOWS - Methods and systems process a semiconductor substrate having a plurality of structures to be selectively irradiated with multiple laser beams. The structures are arranged in a plurality of substantially parallel rows extending in a generally lengthwise direction. The method generates a first laser beam that propagates along a first laser beam axis that intersects a first target location on or within the semiconductor substrate. The method also generates a second laser beam that propagates along a second laser beam axis that intersects a second target location on or within the semiconductor substrate. The second target location is offset from the first target location in a direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the rows by some amount such that, when the first target location is a structure on a first row of structures, the second target location is a structure or between two adjacent structures on a second row distinct from the first row. The method moves the semiconductor substrate relative to the first and second laser axes in a direction approximately parallel to the rows of structures, so as to pass the first target location along the first row to irradiate for a first time selected structures in the first row, and so as to simultaneously pass the second target location along the second row to irradiate for a second time structures previously irradiated by the first laser beam during a previous pass of the first target location along the second row. | 04-15-2010 |
20110186555 | SYSTEM FOR SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURE PROCESSING USING MULTIPLE LASER BEAM SPOTS - Methods and systems selectively irradiate structures on or within a semiconductor substrate using a plurality of pulsed laser beams. The structures are arranged in a row extending in a generally lengthwise direction. The method generates a first pulsed laser beam that propagates along a first laser beam axis that intersects the semiconductor substrate and a second pulsed laser beam that propagates along a second laser beam axis that intersects the semiconductor substrate. The method directs respective first and second pulses from the first and second pulsed laser beams onto distinct first and second structures in the row. The method moves the first and second laser beam axes relative to the semiconductor substrate substantially in unison in a direction substantially parallel to the lengthwise direction of the row. | 08-04-2011 |
20110272388 | PHOTONIC CLOCK STABILIZED LASER COMB PROCESSING - Processing a workpiece with a laser includes generating laser pulses at a first pulse repetition frequency. The first pulse repetition frequency provides reference timing for coordination of a beam positioning system and one or more cooperating beam position compensation elements to align beam delivery coordinates relative to the workpiece. The method also includes, at a second pulse repetition frequency that is lower than the first pulse repetition frequency, selectively amplifying a subset of the laser pulses. The selection of the laser pulses included in the subset is based on the first pulse repetition frequency and position data received from the beam positioning system. The method further includes adjusting the beam delivery coordinates using the one or more cooperating beam position compensation elements so as to direct the amplified laser pulses to selected targets on the workpiece. | 11-10-2011 |