Laser micro-machining requires high dynamic laser spot trajectory and accuracy to control the laser beam scanning. A well-known technique to scan a laser beam over a specimen is to use a pair of wedge-prisms. However, it is difficult to master-slave the phase-shift between two rotating prisms at high angular-speed. We present here two drive mechanisms that decouple the phase-shift control and the angular-speed control. These mechanisms simplify the required control architecture and are suitable to achieve a high-dynamic trajectory. These concepts are based on differential timing belts and gears mechanisms that modify the phase-shift between the prisms without interrupting the rotation. This article focuses on the kinematic and mechanical design aspects of such mechanisms.

The Femtoprint project uses femtosecond lasers to develop a printer for micro-/nano- scale systems. Femtoprint provides a large community of users with the capability of producing their own micro-systems, in a rapid-manner without the need for expensive infrastructures and specific expertise.

The Femtoprint project, a European project, aims at demonstrating the use of low-energy laser pulses (i.e. below the ablation threshold) to manufacture monolithically integrated devices including optofluidic, optomechanical and photonic devices. The longer-term objective is the implementation of a versatile table-top machining center. This paper summarizes the project progress to date and demonstrates the potential of this approach through various illustrative examples.

In laser micro-manufacturing, one of the challenges is to achieve fast scanning speed for fast fabrication of complex 3D microstructures. For microstructures with nanoscale features, it is often desirable to steer laser beams from a few microns to a few tens of nanometers away from their initial main trajectory. Here, we report on the design, fabrication and characterization of an optomechanical miniature laser scanning-head based on a movable focusing lens to cope with this challenge.