Patent ID: 7192846

Claim:
A system of laser processing a multi-level, multi-material device including a substrate, a microstructure and a multi-layer stack, the stack having inner layers which separate the microstructure from the substrate, the system comprising: means for generating a pulsed laser beam having a predetermined wavelength and including at least one laser pulse having a predetermined characteristic wherein: a) the predetermined wavelength is below an absorption edge of the substrate; and b) wherein the at least one pulse has duration less than about 10 nanoseconds, and a repetition rate of 10 KHz or higher; means for relatively positioning the microstructure and a waist of the laser beam in three-dimensional space based on at least a position measurement obtained at a reference location wherein the position measurement is used to obtain a prediction of a common location of the microstructure and the beam waist; and means for irradiating the microstructure with the at least one laser pulse based on the predicted common location at a time wherein the beam waist and the microstructure substantially coincide, wherein the microstructure is cleanly removed with substantially maximum pulse energy density at the microstructure and wherein an undesirable change to the inner layers of the stack and substrate is avoided.