Precision Cutting of Glass by Laser-assisted Machining

Precision machining of glass has been receiving attention in various applications because of the use of glass interposers in layered semiconductors or glass substrates for microfluidic chips. These applications require complicated and three-dimensional machining for further product functionality. Etching is conventionally used for precision machining of glass. However, applying etching for three-dimensional machining is difficult, and thus, a method which is applicable to three-dimensional machining of glass is needed. Cutting is a method applicable to three-dimensional machining. However, precision cutting of glass is difficult because glass is a hard and brittle material. In this research, we applied laser-assisted machining for cutting of glass. We first conducted laser-assisted milling for plane surface cutting. We then proposed laser-assisted drilling for glass drilling to perform the three-dimensional cutting of glass by laser-assisted machining. Through the experimental analyses, we demonstrated the feasibility of the precision and three-dimensional cutting of glass.