Process Modeling and Enhancements of Laser-Induced Plasma Micro-Machining (LIP-MM)

The research objective of this proposal is to investigate the underlying physics behind a translational and multiphysical micromachining process, i.e., Laser Induced Plasma MicroMachining (LIPMM), pioneered recently by this team. This fundamental research will be used to create new LIPMM based processes that enable scalable, multi-material, tool-less and highly flexible micromachining. The working principle of LIPMM is the creation of microplasma inside a dielectric liquid medium, at the focal point of a laser beam, and then using this plasma to perform controlled and directed micromachining of the workpiece. Recent work by this team has shown that LIPMM has a significant edge over current micromachining processes due to an enhanced multi-materials capability, reduced heat affected zone, and that further extensions of LIPMM can yield even greater throughput and dramatically enhanced process flexibility. If the proposed work is successful, we will have a major advancement towards technical challenges faced by the micromachining community today which include: (1) performing micromachining independent of the surface or optical properties of the workpiece material; (2) having high enough MRR to be economically competitive for micromachining large areas; (3) being able to machine features with resolution independent of the optical diffraction limit.