JPH07185875A - Material processing method by pulse laser - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily and surely remove processing scum after processing by irradiating the surface of a material to be processed with a pulse laser in the state of forming a thin layer of liquid thereby processing this material. CONSTITUTION:The liquid 6 is previously applied thinly at about several to several hundred mum on the surface of the material 3 (for example, polyimide film) prior to starting of processing. The liquid 6 is properly selected by taking the wettability with the surface of the material 3 into consideration. The surface tension of the liquid 6 is decreased and the coating layer thereof is made thin by addition of a surfactant, such as fatty acid soap water, to the liquid in the case of use of the water. Splashing of the liquid on the surface of an irradiated region by several shots of pulse lasers is resulted in the beginning of the irradiation if the coating layer is irradiated with the pulse lasers in the state of thinly applying the liquid 6 thereon. However, the state that the liquid 6 remains on the surface around the processing section 4 is attained. The remaining liquid 6 floats on the surface and does not directly adhere to the surface of the material 3 when the processing scum splashes to the surface.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a material processing method using a pulse laser.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is already well known to irradiate a surface of a polymer material such as a polymer with a pulsed laser having a short wavelength such as an excimer laser to form it into a desired shape. When such a pulsed laser is irradiated, the irradiated portion is instantaneously decomposed and scattered. Unlike the thermal processing using CO2 laser, YAG laser, etc., this processing method has extremely little heat diffusion to the irradiation surroundings, can process the processing edge sharply, and since it has a short wavelength, it enables fine processing. It has various advantages such as

In this processing method, a mask 1 having a processed shape is arranged in the optical path of a pulse laser as shown in FIG. 1, and the pulse laser passing through this mask 1 is irradiated by a suitable optical system 2 with irradiation energy suitable for a material. Adjust the density and processing dimensions,
Irradiating the material 3 is performed.

However, in such a processing method, a processing dust 5 called debris may be deposited and attached around the processing portion 4 of the material 3. It is usually difficult to remove the processing dust attached in this manner after processing, although it depends on the material.

Generally, during processing, helium gas is blown to the processing portion 4 by a nozzle to blow off the processing dust, but this also cannot reliably remove the processing dust. However, the use of such a gas causes an increase in processing cost.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to easily remove the processing dust generated during the processing by irradiation with a pulse laser.

[0007]

The present invention is characterized in that a thin layer of a liquid is formed on the surface of a material to be processed, and the material is processed by irradiating a pulse laser.

[0008]

In the processing, since the periphery of the processed portion is covered with the liquid, the processing dust generated by the processing floats on the surface of the liquid or floats or deposits in the liquid, and It does not adhere directly to the surface. By removing the liquid after processing, the processing dust can be easily removed from the surface of the material.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. According to the present invention, before starting the processing, as shown in FIG.
Material 3 (eg polyimide film) as shown in
The liquid 6 is thinly applied to the surface of 1 to about several μm to several hundred μm. The liquid 6 may be transparent to the pulse laser or opaque.

The liquid 6 may be appropriately selected in consideration of the wettability of the material 3 with respect to the surface. For example, when water is used as the liquid, only water may be used, but a surfactant such as fatty acid soap water may be added. By adding such a surfactant, the surface tension of the liquid 6 becomes small, and the coating layer can be made as thin as possible. If the coating layer is made thicker, the loss of the pulsed laser will increase, resulting in poor processing efficiency and time-consuming removal after processing, which is not a good idea.

When the pulse laser is applied in a state where the liquid 6 is applied thinly as described above, the liquid on the surface of the irradiation region is scattered by several shots of the pulse laser at the beginning of the irradiation. However, the liquid 6 remains on the surface around the processed portion 4.

When the processing dust scatters here, the processing dust floats on the surface of the liquid 6 thus remaining,
Alternatively, it does not directly adhere to the surface of the material 3 by floating or accumulating in the liquid 6. After processing, the material 3 is washed with ethanol or a neutral detergent. Since the processing dust is not directly attached to the material 3, the processing dust is easily removed from the surface of the material 3 together with the liquid 6.

When liquid 6 having a high volatility such as liquid nitrogen or alcohol is used,
Alternatively, when the liquid evaporates due to a long processing time, the liquid may be processed while flowing it little by little from the periphery of the processing site for the purpose of supplementing the liquid. This joining and cooling effect of the processed portion are added, and it is possible to perform sharp processing without thermal influence, which is convenient.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, processing dust generated when a material is processed by a pulse laser is simply applied thinly on the surface of the material,
The effect that it can be removed easily and surely after processing is achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a processing layout view showing an embodiment method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a material coated with a liquid.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Material 6 Liquid

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shinichi Deno 47 Umezu Takanune-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City Nissin Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A material processing method using a pulse laser, which comprises irradiating a material to be processed with a pulse laser in a state where a thin layer of a liquid is formed on the surface of the material to be processed.