Product Code: PIC2008_P207

A Study of Laser Etching and Cutting Pcb Boards by 355Nm Dpss Uv Laser
Authors:
Fei Zhang, Hua Zhong University of Science and Technology; Wuhan Peoples Republic of China
Xiaoyan Zeng, Hua Zhong University of Science and Technology; Wuhan Peoples Republic of China
Xiangyou Li, Hua Zhong University of Science and Technology; Wuhan Peoples Republic of China
Jun Duan, Hua Zhong University of Science and Technology; Wuhan Peoples Republic of China
Presented at PICALO 2008

During the last decade, diode-pumped solid state lasers (DPSSL) have gained wider application in industry, of which most of the lasers wavelengths are in the ranges 1064 nm and 532 nm. With the development of DPSSL, shorter wavelength laser such as UV laser is needed to etch the materials in order to get the higher etching depth or precision. However, there is few report about the comparison for laser micro machining between UV laser and the infrared laser. In this paper, a 355nm Nd:YVO4 laser with output powers of 8W, repetition rates of 100kHz, pulse durations of 25ns is used for etching the flexible printed circuit (FPC) and copper clad laminate (CCL). The effect of the laser processing parameters such as laser power, single pulse energy, repetition rate and laser scanning velocity on the microstructure are studied in detail. The experimental results demonstrated that by comparing 1064nm laser and UV laser, the lasers within UV ranges needs less power to etch the copper layer entirely and causes less thermal effect, as copper, PI and epoxy has higher absorptivity for this laser. Nevertheless, the significant benefit for IR laser is that it brings about less damage to PI or epoxy substrates, which makes it fit for the ablation of the copper layer. On the other hand, the 355nm UV laser is fit for the cutting process of the PCB board because it can make the facile separation of thick polymer substrates quickly.