Jul 11 2008
Deep Photonics Corp., an innovative technology company manufacturing deep ultraviolet fiber laser solutions for the semiconductor, electronics and photovoltaic marketplace, today announced the introduction of the FLP-266-PPP, a 2 watt Picosecond 266 nm fiber laser featuring adjustable pulse width, pulse burst packets, and variable pulse packet frequency.
Designed for the photovoltaic industry, the FLP-266-PPP is a deep ultraviolet fiber laser, combining high-power output with extended lifetime, output stability, and reliability needed for demanding laser applications. This laser introduces our new Picosecond Packet Pulsing (P³) technology, providing a significant innovation in cold ablation of materials. P³ technology delivers extremely accurate depth control with pulse packet energy ranging from 30nJ - 30µJ. This proprietary pulsing technology provides the optimum combination of precise, efficient material ablation while virtually eliminating deleterious effects due to thermal heating of adjacent material. The FLP-266-PPP platform combines benchmark performance with design innovations to deliver consistent performance at a low operating cost.
"We have specifically targeted the photovoltaic industry with the FLP-266-PPP platform. Photovoltaic manufacturers and equipment OEMs have specifically requested an ultra-fast, short pulse laser that could cleanly and accurately ablate current and future material sets at higher throughput than today's current technology. The FLP-266-PPP directly addresses this need. Our deep UV fiber lasers deliver break-through performance, multiple wavelength output, pulse-to-pulse stability and high average power to the photovoltaic industry," said Joe LaChapelle, CEO of Deep Photonics. "We are very pleased to continue to deliver as planned on our technology roadmap."
The output characteristics of the FLP-266-PPP make it ideal for applications including edge isolation, laser fired contacts, via thru contacts, front surface contacts and thin film patterning.
"The FLP-266-PPP introduces cold ablation processing to photovoltaic applications," commented Dr. Ted Alekel, Chief Technology Officer for Deep Photonics. "The combination of 266 nm ionizing photonic energy, picosecond pulse packets, and adjustable repetition rates makes the FLP-266-PPP ideal for solar cell manufacturing applications. Due to their short wavelength and high peak power, picosecond 266 nm fiber lasers can remove sub-micron layers with fast plume evaporation and without excessive heat transfer to a substrate. The laser's high repetition rates of energetic 266 nm laser pulses require lower laser fluence than what is compulsory for nanosecond lasers. As a result, our innovative fiber laser diminishes the heating, melting, and recasting associated with longer wavelengths and longer nanosecond pulses. Machined features are sharper and can be made smaller."
The new 266 nm Deep UV Fiber Laser operates at up to 2 watts and allows the operator to define energy delivery strategies that feature 10-50 ps pulses grouped in packets from 10 ns up to 10 µs, variable pulse packet frequencies 250 kHz to 25 MHz, making the laser ideal for processing crystalline silicon (c-Si) and new advanced thin films (CdTe & CuInSe2).