Product Code: PIC06_1006

Comparison of Front and Back Laser Irradiation in Laser Cleaning of Silica Particles from Silica Glass
Authors:
Adam Joyce, Department of Physics; Sydney Australia
Deb Kane, Macquarie University; Sydney Australia
Presented at PICALO 2006

Laser cleaning of micron and sub-micron particles from various substrates such as silicon wafers and glass has been an active area of research in laser processing. Both understanding the fundamental physics of the light/particle/surface interaction and the development of successful cleaning protocols for industrial application have been drivers. Several groups have observed that directing the laser beam through a semi-transparent or transparent sample gives a higher laser cleaning efficiency for a given laser fluence than does front laser irradiation. In this work we present physical explanations of this observation and new experimental results of the comparative optical damage that occurs at higher laser fluences, beyond the damage free laser cleaning limit.