Patent ID: 6087618
Filing Date: 2000-07-11
Classification: B23K,G01T

Abstract:
A method for micro-milling a substrate to a predetermined depth, comprising the steps of:directing a laser beam at a predetermined intensity towards a first surface of a substrate to be milled;moving the substrate material relative to the laser beam at a predetermined constant velocity along a predetermined path so as to ablate the surface of the substrate material along the path by application of a predetermined uniform flux per unit area such that a predetermined depth of material is ablated for one pass of the laser beam along the path; andrepeating the relative movement of the substrate material and laser beam along said path for a predetermined number of passes until the material has been ablated sufficiently to form a groove of predetermined depth and width, the ablation rate being between 2 to 10 microns for each pass of the laser beam along the groove.