Three-Dimensional Glass Monolithic Micro-Flexure Fabricated by Femtosecond Laser Exposure and Chemical Etching

Abstract

Abstract:Flexures are components of micro-mechanisms efficiently replacing classical multi-part joints found at the macroscale. So far, flexures have been limited to two-dimensional planar designs due to the lack of a suitable three-dimensional micromanufacturing process. Here we demonstrate and characterize a high-strength transparent monolithic three-dimensional flexural component fabricated out of fused silica using non-ablative femtosecond laser processing combined with chemical etching. As an illustration of the potential use of this flexure, we propose a design of a Hoecken linkage entirely made with three-dimensional cross-spring pivot hinges.

Femtosecond laser-based production of 3D micro- and nano- devices in transparent substrate: a step toward system-materials

“…Femtosecond laser are particularly attractive in this context as they allow for the fabrication of threedimensional component that could not be fabricated before using conventional microsystems techniques. In Figure 10, we illustrate a monolithic cross-pivot [36], entirely manufactured out of glass. Such flexures have superior performances compared to more traditional flexures like the notch hinge: the stiffness contrast between the pivot axis and the other degrees of freedom is significantly higher and better defined, making it a true one-degree of freedom pivot.…”

“…Such flexures have superior performances compared to more traditional flexures like the notch hinge: the stiffness contrast between the pivot axis and the other degrees of freedom is significantly higher and better defined, making it a true one-degree of freedom pivot. These cross-pivots can themselves be combined in more complex structure [36] like for instance, mechanical guidance like the Hoecken linear guidance illustrated below ( Figure 11). Figure 11.…”

Three-Dimensional Laser Printing of Macro-Scale Glass Objects at a Micro-Scale Resolution

“…Thanks to the ultrashort pulse durations, ranging from femtosecond to tens of picoseconds, and the ultrahigh repetition rates, enabling the efficient and high throughput machining of materials, ultrafast lasers nowadays have been widely adopted in fabricating three-dimensional (3D) microstructures in various transparent materials [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. In particular, ultrafast lasers have enabled the fabrication of geometrically complex 3D microstructures in glass for a variety of applications ranging from microfluidics and micro-optics to micromechanics [8,9,10]. Generally speaking, ultrafast laser pulses with sub-ps durations are considered more advantageous than the picosecond laser pulses in terms of the highest achievable spatial resolution as well as energy deposition efficiency, as the shorter the laser pulse durations, the less significant the thermal diffusion and the stronger the interaction of the laser pulses with the materials owing to the enhanced peak intensities [11].…”

A Monolithic Gimbal Micro-Mirror Fabricated and Remotely Tuned with a Femtosecond Laser

“…Particularly in fused silica, the process has been used to create both optical as well as pure mechanical devices. Active and passive waveguides [15,16,17,18], couplers [19,20], diffractive optical elements [21,22], wave plates [23], and polarizing optics [24,25] have been demonstrated, as well as mechanical devices like actuators [26,27] and flexures [28]. The integration of optical and mechanical functionalities has also been demonstrated inside a single substrate, while maintaining the monolithic nature of the overall device [29].…”