Smooth or not: Robust fused silica micro-components by femtosecond-laser-assisted etching

Abstract

Recent progress in manufacturing now enables the efficient fabrication of complex oxide-glass components at the micrometer– to sub-micrometer scale. This benefits both the industry and fundamental research as such miniature glass parts have numerous applications. However, at these length-scales, the mechanical properties of glasses can no longer be predicted based on bulk material characteristics. Here it is shown that fused silica micro-pillars fabricated by laser-assisted etching are almost ten times stronger than their bulk-sized counterparts. The relatively rough surface typical for this process does not much impair this strength. Additionally, it is demonstrated that annealing of the as-fabricated structures at 1200 °C in air results in significantly smoother surfaces. The accompanying increase in mechanical strength from approximately 8 GPa to 10 GPa is due to the reduction of stress concentrations at the surface, as demonstrated by finite element simulations. It is also demonstrated that the gain in mechanical resistance of glass components due to downsizing occurs already for parts as large as almost 20 µm – orders of magnitude above the critical size reported for other micro-mechanical effects. These micro-mechanical properties of selective laser-assisted etching structured fused silica components are key to a reliable use of glass micro-components.

Keywords

• Fused Silica
• Femtosecond Laser
• Chemical Etching
• Micromechanics