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Materials and Manufacturing Processes

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MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS

a a a
R.D. Schaeffer , M.J. Scaggs & T.P. McGarry
a
Lambda Physik, Inc , 289 Great Road, Acton, Massachusetts, 01720
Published online: 26 Apr 2007.

To cite this article: R.D. Schaeffer , M.J. Scaggs & T.P. McGarry (1990) MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS,
Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 5:4, 617-640, DOI: 10.1080/10426919008953281

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 MATERIALS & MANUFACTURING PROCESSES, 5(4), 617-640 (1990)

MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS

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R.D. Schaeffer, M.J. Scaggs, and T.P. McGarry

Lambda Physik, Inc.
289 Great Road, Acton, Massachusetts 01720

ABSmACT

Engineering applica1ions of lasers in advanced technologies have grown rapidly in the

last decade. The range of these applications include microlithography, cutting of polymers,
ceramics, glass and metals, the marking of surface mount devices such as ceramic
capacitors and deposition of films including diamond coatings and high temperature
superconductive thin films. The potential for excimer lasers in the workplace has been
expanding dramatically recently because of two parallel areas of development: increased
reliability and performance achieved by the manufacturers, and development of new
applications by major research teams. This review discusses both the history and future of
excimer technology and applications.

INTRODUCTION

Excimer lasers are the most versatile and powerful ultraviolet light sources
currently available. The unique properties of deep UV radiation and the interaction
with various materials are currently being investigated and utilized in the industrial
sector to provide a non-contact tool which can cost effectively perform
micromachining and marking applications. A very important aspect of the current
excitement for excimer laser use is improvements made by excimer manufacturers
towards providing more reliability, lower operating costs, and more predictable
behavior - essentially working towards the goal of "turn-key" operation. Also, the
unique properties of excimer lasers and their UV interaction with materials differs
significantly from more common material processing lasers like the CO 2 (10.6 !Jm)
and Nd:YAG (1.06 !Jm) and these differences make the excimer laser the tool of
choice for many applications, especially those requiring a high degree of precision
or those sensitive to harmful side effects such as charring or melting.

617

Copyright C t 990 by Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 618 SCHAEFFER ET AL.

Excimer Laser Technology and Development

Excimer lasers are a class of electronically excited molecular gas lasers which
permit high intensity, short duration pulses of UV light. The term excimer is derived
from EXCited homo nuclear dIMER (diamotic molecule), for example, molecular
xenon (Xe, *). However, the most widely used excimers involve excited heteronuclear
dimer such as ArF*, for example. These lasers are technically referred to as
"exciplexes". Depending on the gas mixture in the laser head, excimers can be
operated at many different wavelengths, the four most common being 193 nm (argon
fluoride - ArF), 248 nm (krypton fluoride - KrF), 308 nm (xenon chloride - XeCI),
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and 351 nm (xenon fluoride - XeF). In addition to the gases which form the actual
lasing partners, a buffer gas, usually neon (Ne) or helium (He) is used to provide a
third body collision partner. Laser radiation is generated when the tightly bound
exciplex makes a transition back to the repulsive ground state, giving off energy as
UV photons (1-3).

Commercial excimer lasers cover a wide range of pulse energy (approximately 10

mJ to 2 J per pulse), average power output (several 100 W), and repetition rate (up
to 1,000 pulses per second). Energy densities in the beam vary between about 10 and
400 ml/cm', depending on the model, and the most powerful excimer lasers operate
at average output powers of 150 W or more and with repetition rates of up to 500
Hz, or 1.8 million shots per hour.

An excimer laser head (Fig. 1) contains three parts: the active lasing medium, an
optical resonator and a power supply. The atoms or molecules of the active gas lasing
medium absorb the energy delivered by the power supply, and then emit a portion
of the absorbed energy as laser light. The optical resonator consists of two mirrors
placed at either end of the pressure vessel. One mirror reflects 100 percent of the
beam. The other, typically an uncoated Mgf', window, transmits 90 percent to allow
partial feedback and permit beam extraction. Also included in the laser head are high
voltage storage capacitors, a thyratron switching circuit, and other computerized
electronic circuitry.

STORAGE
CAPACitOR

fllGH
VOLTAGE

LASU
THYRATRON OUIPur
SWITCH

Figure 1. Basic excimer laser layout.

 MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS 619
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2 3 /1 5--5 7 [rnrn] 0

Figure 2. Typical excimer laser beam profile.

The beam profile is rectangular (Fig. 2) and its flat top without peaks or holes
is well suited to processing large areas using projection imaging techniques. The
mask used to image the beam onto the work piece is a metal stencil of 0.1 to 0.2 mm
thickness. It can contain a hole or slot, an array of holes or a combination of slots,
or any complex pattern designed for a particular application. The parallel processing
of mask imaging may allow higher throughput than the serial approach used with a
spot beam from a CO 2 and YAG laser.

Many materials (Table 1) exhibit high absorption coefficients in the UV. Because
most of the energy is absorbed in a surface layer typically less than 1 Jlm thick,
ablated material is removed layer-by-layeron a pulse-to-pulse basis. Since the entire
process occurs during the 10 to 50 nsec duration of a typical laser pulse, there is
insufficient time for a considerable amount of heat to diffuse into the surrounding
material. This accounts for the virtual absence of a heat-affected zone, and is one
important reason why excimers are often substituted for either CO 2 or YAG lasers
in marking, drilling, cutting and surface treatment applications. Other advantages
include better quality and yields, especially for materials with low absorption at 10.6
and 1.06 Jlm (noble metals), and/or materials sensitive to high thermal stress (glass
and ceramics). Also, due to the short wavelength of excimers, an order of magnitude
better resolution than can be achieved with infrared lasers is possible, allowing higher
machining and marking precision.
 620 SCHAEFFER ET AL.

TABLE 1
Generalized summary of key parameters
for typical materials and processing types.

Process Material Wavelength Energy Density Etch Rate

(nm) (J/cm2) (~)

Etching Plastics 193,248,308 0.5 to 2 0.1 to 1

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Ceramics and 193, 248, 308 5.0 to 15 0.1 to 0.3

hard dielectrics

Metal Foils 193,248,308 5 to >20 0.1 to 0.25

351

Drilling Plastics > 1 mm 193, 248, 308 3 to 50 0.2 to 4.5

Ceramics and 193, 248, 308 20 to >50 0.2 to 5

hard dielectrics

Metals 193, 248, 308 20 to >50 0.2 to >10

351

In the pioneering days of excimer laser development, gas lifetimes were measured
in thousands of shots and high voltage components, most notably the thyratron
switch, were operated close to their maximum specifications. These were two of the
most pressing areas to improve upon before the excimer could take its place in the
industrial work place.

The first major breakthrough in improved reliability came in 1984 with the
development of magnetic switching circuitry (MSC"). The MSC reduces current
risetime and prevents reverse currents in the high voltage circuit, while also acting
to reduce the current across the most sensitive component, the thyratron. Since the
introduction of MSC, failures of the thyratron switch and high voltage capacitors
have virtually been eliminated. Standard operating ranges without failure are in
excess of 109 pulses, equating to more than 2,000 operating hours at a repetition rate
of 200 Hz with a 70% duty cycle (4,5).

A second significant advance came with the introduction of computer control to

the laser. Computer control not only improves ease of use, but allows extending the
gas lifetime through a mechanism involving halogen gas injection and voltage
ramping. Additionally, this extension can be done under constant energy condition,
 MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS 621

allowing long term operation of the laser under reproducible and identifiable
operating conditions. Also, in the present state-of-the-art lasers, a fiber optic local
area network is used to increase reliability and security of data transmission.

Another broader area of concern has been increasing the reliability of "low tech"
components, affecting everything from circulation fan assemblies, halogen
compatibility of materials, and better shielding to reduce electro-magnetic
interference (EMI) levels. At present, the limiting high voltage component seems to
be the pair of discharge electrodes which are subject to slow electrode burn-off that
generates dust impurities. It is difficult to predict the lifetime of an electrode, as its
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shape changes because of burn-off affecting output parameters such as energy, beam
homogeneity, pulse-to-pulse stability and jitter. A major goal of excimer laser
manufacturers today is the improvement of electrode design and lifetime, although
recently a record breaking 1010 pulses was achieved on a test laser without replacing
the thyratron, electrodes, capacitors or power supply.

PRESENT AND FUTURE APPLICATIONS OF EXCIMER LASERS

Three applications where excimers have demonstrated success in production

environments are microlithography, micromachining (material removal on
microscopic scales), and marking. Other promising processes are deposition,
planarization, gas-immersion laser doping, annealing, and recrystallization.

Microlithography

Microlithography applications in pattern generation, mask alignment, and wafer

stepping are critical in semiconductor processing. Continued product downsizing to
the submicrometer level presents both product improvement and prototype
application opportunities for the UV laser. Fig. 3 shows a photoresist with several
size structures machined in it. The laser wavelengths most commonly used in
photolithography are 308 nm (pattern generation), 248 nm (wafersteppers), and 193
nm (contact printing and direct writing).

Pattern generators produce the reticles (microcircuit masks on a large scale) that
are used for production of highly integrated semiconductor circuits. First, a layer of
chrome then a thin layer of optical photoresist, is deposited on glass or fused quartz.
Usually the integrated circuit (IC) pattern is exposed on the photoresist with a light
source, in this case the excimer laser. The unexposed photoresist, the bare chrome,
and the remaining photoresist are removed in sequence, leaving the IC pattern in
chrome on glass.

A pattern generator equipped with a mercury arc lamp can take as long as 50
hours to generate a pattern. In contrast, electron beam and excimer systems can print
patterns in about two hours. The biggest drawback of the e-beam system is cost,
which can range from $3 to $5 million, while capital investment for an excimer based
 622 SCHAEFFER ET AL.
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Figure 3. Photoresist machined with various sized structures.

system is approximately $700,000. By equipping an optical pattern generator with a

308 nm excimer laser, it is possible to expose photoresist in the "flash-on-the-fly"
mode, provide better resolution than that from the 436 and 365 nm lines of mercury
vapor lamps, and is still. high enough to avoid optical transmission problems
encountered at shorter wavelengths (6-8).

Excimer laser energy, delivered by an appropriate optical system under computer

control, has been shown to be applicable to several new VLSI and integrated optic
processing technologies. Excimer laser light pulses at 193 nm have been used
experimentally to improve alignment overlay in wafer exposure systems, provide a
way to produce integrated optical devices for optical fiber networks, structure cells
for biological research, and form nanometer scale microimages for advanced circuit
fabrication.
 MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS 623

Contact printing (mask-to-wafer alignment and exposure) is used for small scale
production of high resolution devices. The excimer laser plays a role in modern
contact printing because 193 nm light does not require filtering, has relatively high
intensity, exhibits the shortest usable wavelength in the vacuum-UV, and is capable
of generating 0.2 ~m lines on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) resists (Fig. 4). Also,
a synthetic quartz mask can be used at 193 nm (9,10).

Direct writing with an excimer is used to directly remove material from or

deposit material on the substrate. The advantage of this process is the elimination
of indirect or secondary wet development, rinsing, drying and baking steps. Direct
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etching requires higher fluences to ablate the material. The desired pattern may be
imaged through a mask or the beam can be focussed to a small spot and scanned
across the surface to carve a thin line in the work piece. Direct writing can also be
used to repair faulty devices (Fig. 5).

One example is direct writing of tungsten on both silicon and polymer substrates.
The objective is to exploit the packaging advantage made possible by using the highly
focussed laser beam to create extremely thin metal lines used for chip-to-chip
connections. Excimer laser driven dissociation of tungsten hexafluoride gas can be
used to produce 1 ~mmetal lines on a variety of substrates where the "drawing"
speed can be as fast a several centimeters per second. The process can also be
adapted to deposit other conductors such as zinc, aluminum, molybdenum, platinum,
copper and gold. The advantages of laser writing are maskless operation and the use
of targets with surface irregularities.

In addition to high resolution prints with the high aspect ratios, the excimer laser
can be used in multi-level resist schemes. Optimum results were achieved at all
wavelengths with a minimum gap between the mask features and the wafer surface,
however, 193 nm is preferred over 248 nm due to less diffraction and much higher
sensitivity of PMMA. A typical application is small scale production of high
frequency devices on gallium arsenide and lithium niobate substrates.

Optical wafer steppers are used on high volume semiconductor production lines.
The leading manufacturers are employing line-narrowed excimer lasers at 248 nm to
increase feature resolution to 0.3 ~m over 1 ~m depth of focus in their deep UV
evaluator.

Micromachining

Micromachining which involves micrometer level drilling, etching, cutting, and

stripping, takes advantage of wavelength compatibility of materials such as metals,
polymers, glass and hard dielectrics. In many cases a material has a high absorption
cross-section within the UV range 193 to 351 nm, which allows a specific excimer
wavelength to be an optimum choice.
 624 SCHAEFFER ET Al.
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Figure 4. Excirner laser print showing 0.2 fJrn resist lines.

 MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS 625
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Figure 5. Faulty circuit board repair using an excimer laser.

Absorption by metals, especially silver, gold and copper, is much higher in the
ultraviolet spectral region than in the infrared (Table 2). The excimer beam is except
for small reflection losses, almost completely absorbed by surface layers. In most
cases a molten pool of about 1 ~m depth appears during the pulse. Typically,
material removal by vaporization or expulsion of molten metal is at a rate between
0.1 and 2 ~m per pulse, and peak powers up to 100 GW/cm2 must be used.

To make small holes (10 to a few 100 ~m) a circular aperture is illuminated with
the light from an excimer laser, and the reduced image is directed on to the work
piece. The energy density is then increased to the required value. This technique was
used to perforate the 100 ~m thin stainless steel (shown in Fig. 6) with holes 50 and
150 ~m diameter. Holes with straight, clean walls can also be made in titanium,
nickel, and tungsten. Fig. 7 shows the average material removal rate per laser pulse
as a function of hole size. This data is based on a wavelength of 248 nm and a
constant energy density of 40 J/cm2• Metal up to 1 mm thick can be perforated by
placing the work piece at the focal point of a spherical lens and using an unstable
resonator. Using 200 mJ energy at 248 nm it takes approximately 500 laser pulses to
make holes about 100 ~m in size. Circular holes of larger diameters are made by
 626 SCHAEFFER ET AL.

moving the part in the direction of the beam axis. The opening, which has a very
smooth wall, is enlarged by a milling action from the inside.

TABLE 2
Fraction of Energy Absorbed on Metal Surfaces
at Normal Incidence (%).

Metal At 10.6 Jim At 1.06 !Jm At 0.25 nm

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Aluminum 2 10 18
Iron 4 35 60
Copper 1 8 70
Molybdenum 4 42 60
Nickel 5 25 58
Silver 1 3 77

Figure 6. 50 !Jm and 150 Jim diameter holes in 100 !Jm thick stainless steel.
 MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS 627

potses

1~00 .008 "cccoer

noo
2000
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1800

1600

'~OO .007S"
stainless sleel
1100

1000

aoo
600
,
ioo 100 soc .00 \00 600
diameter I JJm

Figure 7. Metal removal parameters (drilling rate vs. spot size).

Required energy densities are material interaction dependent, but more than 10
J/cm 2 are frequently needed for most metal processing. For example, one application
required an energy density of 12 J/cm2 to machine slots in gold, while another called
for more than 20 J/cm2 to drill small holes in molybdenum refractory metal. Fig. 8
shows a feature machined in gold.

Excimers operating up to 1 kHz offer some new application opportunities. Metal

processing at fluences below their vaporization thresholds and at high average powers
allow sintering and surface remelting to be exploited. For example, copper is heated
but not vaporized at 1 J/cm 2, and when scanned at 1 kHz it causes surface melting.

Precision laser machining of practically all temperature stable synthetic materials

with an excimer beam takes place through photochemical surface changes and
without thermal side effects. In processing plastics, applications range from large area
ablation and microstructuring 'to color changes for marking. The excimer laser cuts
fiber reinforced plastics without charring or burning of the surrounding material.

Kapton, which has a high temperature stability and is difficult to process with
other lasers without causing charring, roll-off due to melting and cracking, can be
precision micromachined and/or drilled with consistent quality by using an excimer
 626 SCHAEFFER ET AL.

UV light. This material exhibits an ablation rate of about 1 11m per pulse if
irradiated at 248 nm at an energy intensity of about 1 J/cm2 (Fig. 9) (11).
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Figure 8. 100 11m feature machined in gold.

Heat-free and clean removal of polymer insulation from wires (Figs. 10, 11) with
diameters of approximately 50 11m is another excellent application. The non-contact
wire-stripping process takes about a second, is applicable to wires with different
diameters and insulations, and makes it possible to remove the insulation at very well
defined positions and lengths anywhere along the wire. Depending on the thickness
of the jacket material, an energy density of 200 m.l/cm? at 248 nm can strip wire in
0.2 to 1 second.

Excimer laser micromachining of fiber optics enables extraction of light signals

through the fiber sides. It has also been shown feasible to weld optical fibers
side-by-side using excimer laser light pulses. In addition, holes. have been laser
machined into optical fibers through metal cladding on the outside of the fiber.
Spacings better than 1 11m were achieved between imaged areas. Fig. 12 shows
polyimide catheter with side walls removed by UV ablation.
 MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS 629

1.6
x Xe CI (308 nm )
1.4 o Kr F ( 248 nm )
• Ar F (193 nm )

1,2
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E 1.0

z
Q 0.8
I-
«
ii5 0,6
«
0.4

0.2
.' .
a
0.01 0.1 1 10
--ENERGY DENSITY (J/cm') - - .

Figure 9. Ablation rates of kapton foil.

Excimer lasers are also used quite successfully in the machining of various
ceramics. In many cases, ablative processing of oxide such as ceramics using the
excimer laser is the only acceptable solution to avoid thermal cracks and formation
of microcracks in material walls. Table 3 givesdata on excimer related processing for
various materials. In general, the ablation rate is the same for both fired and green
substrates because firing does not alter the grainy structure and absorptivity in the
UV. In this process, the excimer laser beam removes a microscopic layer by
vaporizing the material at temperatures above lO,OOO°C. The end result is a conical
shaped hole with an inner wall that is smooth and shows no sign of molten material.
The cone angle depends on energy density - higher values result in a hole which
approaches the ideal cylindrical shape. An ablation depth per pulse of 0.47 ~m is
achieved in ceramic using a 248 nm excimer laser operated at an energy f1uence of
34 J/cm2• This is typical for processing at aspect ratios below one. Increasing the-
depth of the hole causes the ablation depth per pulse to fall off sharply but the
variation in beam size and in turn the variation in f1uence over the total drilling
depth is estimated to be less than 5 percent by burn in patterns at different working
distances. Normally, multiple holes are drilled in parallel at high repetition rates and
 630 SCHAEFFER ET AL.
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Figure 10. Insulating layer removal on small diameter wire.

it may require multiple pulses to etch down to the desired depth. Areas ranging from
0.07 to 0.017 em' can be simultaneously processed at fluences of 7 to 30 J/cm 2l
respectively, with a typical excimer laser operating at 500 mJ per pulse. Changing
from ceramic drilling to cutting increases the ablation rate nearly twofold. A possible
explanation for this is that in drilling the vaporized material is restricted to
recondensation in a relatively small channel. When cutting it expands into the kerf.
Fig. 13 shows a machined ceramic surface (12).
 MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS 631

TABLE 3
Summary of excimer laser etch rates for ceramics

Material Wavelength Energy Density Etch Rate

(nm) (J/cm2) (microns/pulse)

Alumina 193 45 0.06

15 0.13
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20 0.15
30 0.17
45 0.19
308 10 0.15
25 0.17
100 0.23

Zirconia 248 2 0.03

4 0.05
6 0.08
8 0.10
10 0.12
15 0.14

Boron Nitride 193 20 0.15

Silicon Nitride 248 6 0.13

8 0.15
10 0.18
15 0.20

Silicon Carbide 248 6 0.08

8 0.10
10 0.13
15 0.17

PZT 248 2.5 0.01

3.3 0.03
5.0 0.05
17.0 0.15
23.0 0.22
42.0 0.25
308 2.7 0.05
5.4 0.20
11.0 0.24
 632 SCHAEFFER ET AL.
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Figure 11. Insulating layer removal on large diameter wires.

Marking

High resolution marking of alphanumerics, bar codes, logos, symbols and

graphics on metals, polymers, ceramics and glass is possible because of surface
texture alteration, photochemical change, or material removal. Again, applications
where excimers are particularly suited are those where the usual thermal side effects .
associated with CO2 and YAG lasers cannot be tolerated and high visibility is
required (Table 4).
 MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS 633
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Figure 12. Polyimide catheter with side walls removed by UV ablation.

TABLE 4
Excimer Laser Marking Applications

Material Component Wavelength (nm)

Polymers Teflon Wire, Flex Circuits and 308

Packaging Material

Ceramics Surface Mounted Devices (SMD's) 308

Glass Optics 19'3

Metals Aerospace parts and precious metals 248

 634 SCHAEFFER ET AL.
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Figure 13. Machined ceramic surface.

Submillimeter size product identification or decorative information can be etched

into metals. In this process 248 nm light is absorbed by the material, the affected
zone turns molten, then quickly resolidifies. There is little opportunity for thermal
diffusion because the pulse duration is only 20 ns. In general, the infrared lasers work
well on metals where thermal side effects are tolerable, and marks do not require
high resolution, but for those sensitive applications such as marking some aircraft
parts, noble metals or small parts, the excimer offers a very good solution (Fig. 14).

For polymers, color pigment is more important than properties of the material.
Often a photochemical change occurs when a wavelength of 308 nm is used at about
0.5 to 1 J/cm2• Varying the wavelength to 248 nm can change the absorption depth
and the contrast of the mark. For permanence, a depth of about 50 IJm provides the
best wear resistance. For small marks, single shot mask applications are usually
suitable, but legend fields of 10 em' can be marked with a single pulse in a few tenths
of a second by using a scanning procedure. Fig. 15 shows excimer marked polymer
materials.
 MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS 635
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Figure 14. Numerals marked on copper suface.

Electronic surface mount devices and thin ceramic materials are now being
marked with an excimer rather than a CO 2 laser because of high resolution and
freedom from local heating and microcracks. The excimer wavelength of 308 nm is
used for nearly all ceramics because it provides a legible mark with a single pulse
(Fig. 16). By using a long focal length lens, the depth of focus can be as much as
several millimeters, eliminates time consuming refocussing for parts of only small
thickness variance.

High quality and high visibility marks can be produced on glass surfaces with an
excimer wavelength of 193 nm. About 2 J/cm2 is concentrated at the target area per
laser shot, and each pulse removes approximately 0.1 f.lm of material. Higher contrast
shape edges can be obtained by placing a metal grid behind the mask, a technique
that is especially useful for smooth, transparent surfaces (Fig. 17).
 636 SCHAEFFER ET AL.
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Figure 15. Excimer marked polymer materials.

Thin Film Deposition

Two of the most promising areas of film deposition are in thin film diamond
growth and high Tc superconductors. Both of these techniques involve using an
appropriately chosen excimer wavelength, usually 248 nm or 193 nm, and evaporating
a target material onto a substrate. The substrate and target are normally contained
within an evacuated vessel, and the substrate is generally heated.

Applications in diamond film growth that are under development are fabricating
hard coatings for tools and mechanical parts, lithography masks, electronic devices
taking advantage of diamond's outstanding electrical properties, and acoustic devices
such as coated speaker diaphragms. Usually 193 nm radiation is used in the excimer
assisted growth technique, with the substrate being held between 700°C-l,OOO°C.
Substrates include silicon, sapphire, diamond, ceramics and metals, and typical
deposition rates of 5-10 jJm!hour can be achieved. As in other diamond growth
techniques, a hydrogen atmosphere is usually used, which maximizes growth of
diamond structure as opposed to other carbon structures (13,14).
 MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS 637
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Figure 16. Ceramic capacitors marked with a single 308 nm pulse.

High Tc superconductors can be deposited in a thin film on many different

substrates by using a bulk target which shows superconductive properties and
evaporating material onto a substrate. This technique is especially appropriate for
future Ie fabrication. Films of extraordinary quality can be made in this fashion,
usually using 248 nm at a fairly low (3-6 Hz) repetition rate and high energy. One
of the questions is upscaling the technique to production quantity. This may involve
using a higher repetition rate and a rotating substrate or some other technique
(15-17).

SUMMARY

When used in a fashion to take advantage of their strengths, excimer lasers are
an extremely valuable tool for use in many materials processing applications. They
excel at removing small amounts of material with finesse and precision, marking
small parts at high rates of speed, photochemical applications which make use of
high efficiency and high power UV laser light, surface alteration and thin film
 638 SCHAEFFER ET AL.
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Figure 17. Excimer marked glass.

deposition. When the application is micromachining of materials or semiconductor

processing in the submicron range, they are unsurpassed in utility. These strengths,
combined with rapid technological advancement in the reliability and ease of use of
the lasers themselves, assure that the excimer laser will indeed be the third strong
force in lasers used for material processing; taking its place beside the already well
established YAG and COzlasers. .
 MATERIALS PROCESSING WITH EXCIMER LASERS 639

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