Scanning-Based Dynamic Mask Projection for Ultrafast Laser Ablation of Thin Films

TL;DR

A new laser ablation method combines scanning and dynamic masks to achieve high-speed, high-resolution patterning of thin films.

Contribution

The novel integration of a digital micromirror device with scanning enables scalable ultrafast laser nanoprocessing.

Findings

The system achieves a minimum feature size of 770 nm in tantalum nitride thin films.

The scan field has an area-equivalent circular diameter of 550 µm.

The method is suitable for nanomaterial fabrication and digital mask lithography.

Abstract

Ultrafast laser processing is constrained by an inherent throughput–resolution trade-off, typically addressed either by high-speed single-beam scanning or by parallel processing approaches. Here, a scanning-based dynamic mask projection concept is presented, combining both strategies by integrating a digital micromirror device (DMD) for dynamic binary amplitude mask generation with galvanometric scanning for high-speed lateral repositioning of the projected pattern. A high-numerical-aperture microscope objective is used to project the mask for thin film laser ablation with sub-micrometer feature sizes, while scanning extends the processing area beyond a single projected pattern, ultimately limited by the objective’s field of view. The concept is demonstrated by selective single-pulse pattern ablation of 10 nm thick tantalum nitride (TaN) thin films on glass substrates using 230 fs pulses at a center wavelength of 515 nm. The optical system enables a 770 nm minimum feature size across a scan field with an area-equivalent circular diameter of 550 µm. Dynamic mask projection combined with fast scanning offers a scalable route to high-throughput laser nanoprocessing and is relevant to fabrication and processing of nanomaterials, digital mask lithography, and micro- and nanomachining.

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