Reference number : GC-2017-Q1-00418, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : He, Siyuan (Ryerson University), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : Ontario, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Engage Grants for Universities, program name french : Subventions d'engagement partenarial pour les universités, program purpose english : Laser marking/engraving/etching (the term is represented by "laser marking" thereafter) uses a laser beam_x000D_
across the surface of a material to alter the property (e.g., color), or remove the materials to a certain depth_x000D_
through vaporization/melting, such as to form desired patterns. It has been widely used in fabrication and_x000D_
consumer product industries. A laser marking system consists of the laser source (e.g., CO2 laser, fiber laser,_x000D_
Nd:YAG or Nd:YVO laser), the laser beam vector scanning mechanism and controlling software. The laser_x000D_
beam scanning mechanism is traditionally comprised of two galvanometer mirrors or two servo/stepper motor_x000D_
driven mirrors. It also includes other components such as encoders, driving cards, heatsinks and a power_x000D_
supplier. The total size is 3 ~ 4 liters. The cost is about USD 2500, which is ~ 50% of the total laser marking._x000D_
Lumicision Inc. is a GTA company (located in Richmond Hill) and specializes in manufacturing laser_x000D_
machining machines and providing laser marking service. After the company entered this market for a few_x000D_
years, they realized the traditional laser scanning mechanism in their laser marking machines is too bulky and_x000D_
too expensive. The company has been long looking for an alternative solution of much lower cost and smaller_x000D_
size to the traditional laser scanning mechanism in their laser marking machines._x000D_
This application proposes a solution to address the above problem, i.e., using micromirrors to vector scan the_x000D_
laser beam to replace the traditional laser scanning mechanism in the laser marking machine. The micromirror_x000D_
has much smaller/simpler structure and driving circuit than traditional galvanometer or servo/stepper motors_x000D_
driven mirrors because the micromirror's mass is very small, which requires every little power to drive without_x000D_
needing any heatsink. The micromirror based laser beam scanning mechanism is about 0.05 liter or less, which_x000D_
is ~ 50 times smaller than that of the traditional design. In addition, micromirrors are suitable for mass_x000D_
fabrication, i.e., hundreds or thousands are fabricated on one wafer at the same time, which leads to very low_x000D_
unit mirror price, e.g., 10s dollars. The cost including the micromirror and the driving/control circuit is one, program purpose french : Laser marking/engraving/etching (the term is represented by "laser marking" thereafter) uses a laser beam_x000D_
across the surface of a material to alter the property (e.g., color), or remove the materials to a certain depth_x000D_
through vaporization/melting, such as to form desired patterns. It has been widely used in fabrication and_x000D_
consumer product industries. A laser marking system consists of the laser source (e.g., CO2 laser, fiber laser,_x000D_
Nd:YAG or Nd:YVO laser), the laser beam vector scanning mechanism and controlling software. The laser_x000D_
beam scanning mechanism is traditionally comprised of two galvanometer mirrors or two servo/stepper motor_x000D_
driven mirrors. It also includes other components such as encoders, driving cards, heatsinks and a power_x000D_
supplier. The total size is 3 ~ 4 liters. The cost is about USD 2500, which is ~ 50% of the total laser marking._x000D_
Lumicision Inc. is a GTA company (located in Richmond Hill) and specializes in manufacturing laser_x000D_
machining machines and providing laser marking service. After the company entered this market for a few_x000D_
years, they realized the traditional laser scanning mechanism in their laser marking machines is too bulky and_x000D_
too expensive. The company has been long looking for an alternative solution of much lower cost and smaller_x000D_
size to the traditional laser scanning mechanism in their laser marking machines._x000D_
This application proposes a solution to address the above problem, i.e., using micromirrors to vector scan the_x000D_
laser beam to replace the traditional laser scanning mechanism in the laser marking machine. The micromirror_x000D_
has much smaller/simpler structure and driving circuit than traditional galvanometer or servo/stepper motors_x000D_
driven mirrors because the micromirror's mass is very small, which requires every little power to drive without_x000D_
needing any heatsink. The micromirror based laser beam scanning mechanism is about 0.05 liter or less, which_x000D_
is ~ 50 times smaller than that of the traditional design. In addition, micromirrors are suitable for mass_x000D_
fabrication, i.e., hundreds or thousands are fabricated on one wafer at the same time, which leads to very low_x000D_
unit mirror price, e.g., 10s dollars. The cost including the micromirror and the driving/control circuit is one, agreement title english : Development of Micormirror Laser Scanning Mechanism for Laser Marking/Engraving/Etching System, agreement title french : Development of Micormirror Laser Scanning Mechanism for Laser Marking/Engraving/Etching System, agreement number : EGP, agreement value : 25000.0, agreement start date : 2017-06-14, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year. (2017-2018 to 2018-2019), additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier. (2017-2018 à 2018-2019), owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada