Phys.org December 5, 2022
Important physical limitations have prevented applying laser micro-welding to silicon (Si) and other technology-essential semiconductors. High intensities are required for internal glass modification. However, they result in strong propagation nonlinearities which defocus and delocalize intense infrared radiation. To overcome this, researchers in France created defects inside silicon that later serve as weak points to produce clean-edge cuts. The defects acted as strong bonding points. After setting up the right conditions to circumvent the effects, they successfully made the first experimental demonstration of silicon-silicon laser welding. After an optimization process, they extended the technique to gallium arsenide in different configurations alongside silicon. The bindings compared well to ultrashort laser welding demonstrations of other materials. According to the researchers their work may lead to new modalities for manufacturing in electronics, mid-infrared photonics, and MEMS, hybrid chips…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Schematic of the welding configurations… Credit: Lasers & Photonics Reviews, 09 August 2022Â