MICROPATTERNING OF QUARTZ SUBSTRATES BY MULTIWAVELENGTH VACUUM-ULTRAVIOLET LASER-ABLATION

Photoablation of synthetic fused quartz by simultaneous irradiation of multi-wavelength beams of a vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) laser using high -order anti-Stokes Raman scattering is described. The VUV laser, which emits widely spread Raman-shifted lines from 133 nm to 594 nm, is ide al for effective laser ablation of the fused quartz. The well-defined patterns with a cross-sectional profile of a rectangular shape are for med by using a contact mask at an ablation rate as high as 13 nm/s. An effective absorption coefficient of 3.4 x 10(-5) cm-1, which indicate s that the multi-wavelength irradiation effect has an important role i n the process, is obtained.