Light in flight was captured by a single shot of a newly developed backside-illuminated multi-collection-gate image sensor at a frame interval of 10 ns without high-speed gating devices such as a streak camera or post data processes. This paper reports the achievement and further evolution of the image sensor toward the theoretical temporal resolution limit of 11.1 ps derived by the authors. The theoretical analysis revealed the conditions to minimize the temporal resolution. Simulations show that the image sensor designed following the specified conditions and fabricated by existing technology will achieve a frame interval of 50 ps. The sensor, 200 times faster than our latest sensor will innovate advanced analytical apparatuses using time-of-flight or lifetime measurements, such as imaging TOF-MS, FLIM, pulse neutron tomography, PET, LIDAR, and more, beyond these known applications.
An overview of the vast array of the laser material processing techniques is presented as they apply to fabricating structures in the micro and nanometer scale length domains. The overview covers developments from the past 20 years, and encompasses demonstrated processes where the use of the inherent properties of lasers has led to increased fidelity in the processing of materials. These demonstrated processes often use inventive approaches that rely on derivative aspects of established primary principals that govern laser/material interaction phenomena. By using these nuances in concert with the unique properties of lasers, a high level of finesse has been demonstrated in materials processing. The overview highlights by the use of selective examples those processes or techniques that appear to show scalability to the industrial environment.Keywords: laser processing, overview, micro/nanofabrication, IntroductionLasers have been used in materials processing for over 50 years, though in the early days, work was more focused on mitigating laser damage in materials as opposed to the processing of materials. However, the application of lasers to controllably alter materials was recognized early and as an industry, laser processing applications now lead world wide laser sales. The calendar 2005 totals for laser process tooling is near $6.0B USD 1 . Consequently, laser materials processing can no longer be considered a niche industry as there appears to be an increasing demand to apply laser processing solutions to manufacturing for specific value added segments. Commensurate with these industry trends is the fact that the number of conferences devoted to laser material processing continues to grow. This is a normative signal that industry is currently more amenable to applying laser based solutions into the manufacturing process. There are many factors that have contributed to this change in view over the course of the past 2 decades, the primary one being the advance of laser technology with a commensurate increase in system reliability. Figure 1 shows a graph that depicts the number of world wide publications per year that mention laser material processing in the title or the abstract. The data spans nearly 40 years. The results represent a lower value to the total number of publications because there could be publications that discuss laser material processing research or development but fail to mention it in the title or abstract. The data is from an assembled series of databases that includes not only journal articles but also government sponsored research articles from the USA, Japan (e.g. MITI), Germany (e.g. BMFT), France (e.g. CNRS), Canada (e.g. NRC), UK (e.g. Department of Industry) and others. This data supports the conclusion that laser material processing is an established field that could support nearly 400 publications per year.In this paper we explore a small segment of the overall laser material processing industry, namely the use and application of lasers in micro and nanofabrication. By their ver...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.