Ultra-fast lasers have already been used to machine rotational symmetric metallic parts for several years but did not prevail against much cheaper fiber lasers. The limiting factor up to now is the dynamics of the rotary and linear axes, that are used to move the part underneath the stationary laser beam. Although the quality of the surface machined with ultrafast pulsed laser radiation is better than that machined with fiber laser radiation, an overall economic consideration mostly did not justify the utilization of ultrafast pulse lasers for this kind of application. Therefore, new and innovative concepts are needed to exploit the potential of ultrafast pulse lasers, in particular high repetition rate and the steadily increasing average power. The realization that will be presented uses a high-end galvanometric scanner to move the laser beam at speeds of several ten meters per second across the constantly rotating part. The most important part is the synchronization of the laser, the scanner and the axes.

A real case study and characterisation of modern energy efficient windows allowing mobile communication is presented. An earlier study had shown that laser scribing of energy saving coatings allows highly reducing the microwave attenuation (from 30 to 1–3 dB) using a wide band-pass frequency-selective surface (FSS) while preserving the thermal quality of the window. To achieve large-scale production, the laser scribing technique has been further developed. The effect of laser scribing on the mechanical properties of a substrate has been determined through mechanical strength tests. Moreover, the insulating properties of the window have been analysed to ensure the reliability of this technology. As a real case demonstration, an entire train has been equipped with prototype windows. The signal quality has been controlled for a wide band of frequencies and for existing technologies such as long term evolution, universal mobile telecommunication system, multiple input multiple output and for different configurations such as a stationary and a moving train.

Building materials attenuate the microwaves used for telecommunication depending on their composition and thickness. Modern windows contain glass with a metallic coating. This might cause a low quality of cell phone reception inside some buildings. In order to improve the transmission of microwaves used for telecommunication through modern glazing, a novel patterned coating was developed. In this work, the morphology and chemical composition of the pattern was characterized. The attenuation to microwaves of coated, uncoated and patterned glass was measured and simulated. The effect of the size of the air gap of a double glazing was studied by numerical simulation. Typical attenuation to the microwaves of building materials used for telecommunications is presented and compared to our newly developed patterned coating. In this paper, we demonstrate that a specific laser treatment on a conductive coating can strongly improve its performances regarding the transmission of microwaves.

In order to reduce the energy consumption of buildings, modern windows include metal-containing coatings. These coatings strongly attenuate the microwaves used for mobile communications. Here, we present a novel approach to improve radio signal transmission by structuring a low emissivity coating. Laser ablation is used to scribe a line pattern on the coating. The microwave attenuation of the initial coating ranges between −25 and −30 dB between 850 MHz and 3 GHz. The optimized patterning reduces it down to −1.2 ± 0.6 dB. The fraction of the ablated area is relatively low. Our experimental results show that it is possible to reach a level of attenuation close to that of a glass substrate by removing less than 4% of the coating area. The ablated lines are thin enough to not be noticed in most common lighting situations. Therefore, we achieve a dual spectral selectivity: the coated glass is transparent in the visible range, reflective in the infrared and nearly as transparent as its glass substrate to microwaves. Additionally, numerical simulations were performed and show that the attenuation at grazing incidences is dominated by the behaviour of the glass substrate. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that experimental evidence for the combination of such properties is reported and that detailed experimental data are compared to numerical simulations. We anticipate that our findings will be of major importance for the building and transportation sectors.

Monolithically integrated Cu(In, Ga)Se-2 mini-modules were fabricated in order to reduce the width of patterning related dead area. The Cu(In, Ga) Se2 layers were prepared on soda-lime glasses using the multistage process at low substrate temperature below 500 degrees C. A picosecond laser with a wavelength of 532 nm was used for all of the structuring processes (P1, P2, and P3) for the monolithic integration. A "lift-off" type structuring was applied for P1 and P3, and an "ablation" type was for P2. The laser structuring was optimized to be minimizing the dead area width, and the width of about 70 mu m was successfully achieved. A mini-module, in which the optimized structuring processes were applied for the integration, demonstrated a certified efficiency of 16.6%. Copyright (C) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The thin-film solar cell market has seen a period of consolidation during the last years and many involved companies were forced to stop production due to increasing price pressure from competing cell technologies. Today, thin-film solar industry is gaining momentum again. Especially Cu(In,Ga)Se2 technology evolves at high pace fired by recently achieved record efficiencies of 20.4 percent on flexible polyimide substrate [1] and 20.8 percent on glass substrate [2]. Fresh companies are preparing market entry with matured products and manufacturing technology suitable for high-volume and high-throughput production. Among these key-enabling technologies is laser patterning for cell-to-cell interconnects. Several research groups worked on efficient and reliable laser processes that are now ready for the industrial assessment. Here we present a set of work-horse processes for P1, P2 and P3 scribing of CIGS cells on glass substrate. Optimized parameters are presented for 532 nm and 1064 nm using 50 ps pulses from an all-in-fiber laser system. We further demonstrate the successful realization of functional 8-cell modules with a reduced “dead-zone” width of 70±5 μm and high efficiencies. The certified efficiency of 16.6 percent for our low-dead-zone champion module confirms the observation that shrinking of interconnects has no adverse effects on their electrical quality.

State-of-the-art Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 thin-film technology allows the industrial production of highly efficient solar modules. A significant growth of CIGS-based solar cell production volume can be expected for the coming years. One of the critical manufacturing steps in module production is thin-film patterning which allows the monolithic integration of cell-to-cell interconnects. Today, solar module manufacturers seek to replace sub-optimal needle scribing by suitable laser processes. It has been demonstrated, that ultra-short pulse laser scribing can reduce the overall width per interconnect and increase scribe quality. A promising tool for picosecond laser-scribing is the fiber laser. Here we present the successful implementation of all fiber laser patterning of CIGS modules. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

New developments in the thin film solar market continue the trend towards solar modules with higher energy conversion while at the same time, reducing significantly manufacturing costs. Especially thin film technologies based on Cadmiumtellurid (CdTe) or Cu(In, Ga)(S, Se)(2) (CIGS) seem to be suited to improve the energy conversion and hence, take over larger market shares. With this work, we present our latest achievements towards a CIGS all laser scribing process with the emphasis on structuring the absorber layer and its implications to the production. While P1 laser scribing through the substrate is already implemented in production today a variety of different approaches, like lift-off, ablation, or remelting are possible for the P2 process where commonly a mechanical process is state of the art. One challenge which the P2 and P3 processes face is the layer side processing. Therefore a thorough investigation has been conducted including different laser wavelengths (355 nm to 1550 nm), pulse durations (10 ps to 100 ns), and beam shaping to find the best possible solution for each scribing process. Optimization took place utilizing not only resistance measurement and optical microscopy but also LSM, REM, EDX, EL, and Lock-In Thermography. Combining the best results of each scribing process and using a high speed, high accuracy motion system a functional lab size module has been produced with a reduced dead zone of below 200 mu m. In an outlook, a way is presented on how to take the lab results into a productive system and place it in a manufacturing environment.

Recent developments in Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) thin film photovoltaics enabled the manufacturers to produce highly efficient solar modules. Nevertheless, the production process still lacks a competitive process for module patterning. Today, the industry standard for the serial interconnection of cells is still based on mechanical scribing for the P2 and P3 process. A reduction of the non-productive "dead zone" between the P1 and P3 scribes is crucial for further increasing module efficiency. Compact and affordable picosecond pulsed laser sources are promising tools towards all-laser scribing of CIGS solar modules. We conducted an extensive parameter study comprising picosecond laser sources from 355 to 1064 nm wavelength and 10 to 50 ps pulse duration. Scribing results were analyzed by laser scanning microscope, scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. We developed stable and reliable processes for the P1, P2 and P3 scribe. The best parameter sets were then used for the production of functional mini-modules. For comparison, the same was done for a selection of nanosecond pulsed lasers. Standardized analysis of the modules has shown superior electrical performance of the interconnections and confirmed the feasibility of a dead zone width of less than 200 mu m on an entire mini module.

Recent achievements in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin film technology allow the industrial production ofhighly efficient solar modules. A large growth of the CIGS-based solar cell production volume can beexpected for the coming years thanks to some favorable properties inherent to this absorber type. A majordrawback of CIGS is the inefficient patterning process. Since CIGS is a particularly difficult material forlaser ablation there is still no industrial all-laser scribing solution available. Manufacturers fall back onmechanical needle scribing for the P2 and P3 scribing process and have to accept substantial broadeningof the electrical interconnects due to unpredictable chipping at the scribe borders. In the present study weexplored a large variety of possible processes for the P1-P3 scribing at different wavelengths and indifferent pulse duration regimes. Beside the direct ablation of CIGS with ultrashort pulses we alsoinvestigated more exotic processes like layer side lift-off variants. The resulting scribes were analyzedusing electron microscopy (EM), laser scanning microscopy (LSM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX) and electrical conductivity measurements. The most promising processes were selected forproducing functional mini-modules. Multiple optimization cycles allowed us to select the processes withthe best performance in the mini-module.

The solar photovoltaic market is continuously growing utilizing boths crystalline silicon (c-Si) as well as thin film technologies. This growth is directly dependant on the manufacturing costs for solar cells. Factors for cost reduction are innovative ideas for an optimization of precision and throughput. Lasers are excellent tools to provide highly efficient processes with impressive accuracy. They need to be used in combination with fast and precise motion systems for a maximum gain in the manufacturing process, yielding best cost of ownership.In this article such an innovative solution is presented for laser scribing in thin film Si modules. A combination of a new glass substrate holding system combined with a fast and precise motion system is the foundation for a cost effective scribing machine. In addition, the advantages of fiber lasers in beam delivery and beam quality guarantee not only shorter setup and down times but also high resolution and reproducibility for the scribing processes P1, P2 and P3. The precision of the whole system allows to reduce the dead zone to a minimum and therefore to improve the efficiency of the modules.

The stability of the laser bonded titanium coated glass/polyimide microjoints were studied in vivo by implanting on a rat brain surface for 10 days. In the current state, the strength of the joints were measured by a specially designed instrument called "pressure test" equipment where the samples were subjected to a variable pressure load (using high pressure nitrogen) controlled by a pressure regulator. The strength of the joints seems to degrade by about 28% as a result of soaking in rat brain. The bond degradation in rat brain implants is similar compared with those soaked in artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) solution. Polyimide uptakes water through existing pores in it and also water gets in the joint region through the edges of the samples. Water might have caused oxidation of the chemical bonds which are thought to have formed by the laser fabrication process. A separate set of samples were created using same parameters for testing the hermeticity of the laser bonds. The samples were also exposed to rat brain CSF and were tested for hermiticity at the end of 10 days exposure time. It was observed that the implanted samples retained their hermeticity although the bond strength degraded by about 28%.

Drilling holes with pulsed Nd:YAG lasers is well researched and state-of-the-art within a variety of industrial applications. Surgical needles in the medical field, turbine blades for the aviation industry, and gas filter for the automotive industry are just some examples that come to mind. Similar to other industrial developments over the last century this market asks for higher throughput, smaller diameter, higher aspect ratios, and of course within a Minimum of tolerances. New laser sources and specially developed processes are entering the market to move the mere drilling to the next level of micro drilling. It is crucial to understand the application and the influence of the process parameters to develop a suitable, stable, and repeatable work process. Commonly used pulses within the microsecond-regime show a significant thermal side effect which is unacceptable if used e.g. in combustion nozzles. Reducing, the thermal load by shortening the pulse length into the nanosecond-regime could be a compromise to bridge the gap between quality and production speed in high precision laser drilling. However, depending oil the relation between pulse energy, pulse repetition rate, and "helical speed" a reduced, but existent, thermal effect is inevitable. The scope of this paper is to show the influences of the process parameters in helical drilling with a new developed nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser at its fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm. A variation of drilling-optic principles in different materials are studied and the advantages as much as the disadvantages are discussed.

Drilling with Lasers has come a long way since Theodore Maiman reported the first working laser some forty Years ago. New laser sources and specially developed processes are entering the market to move the mere drilling to the next level of micro drilling. Surgical needles in the medical field, turbine blades for the aviation industry, and gas filters for the automotive industry are just some examples that come to mind here. Nevertheless, the market asks for higher throughput, smaller diameter, higher aspect ratios, and all of the above within a minimum of tolerances. Commonly used laser pulses within the microsecond-regime show a significant thermal side effect which is unacceptable if used e.g. in combustion nozzles. Reducing the thermal load by shortening the pulse length into the nanosecond-regime could be a compromise to bridge the gap between quality and production speed in high precision drilling.The scope of this work is to show the influences of the process parameters in micro drilling applications. Utilizing a nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG at its fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm, hole sizes of less then 10μm and up to 200μm diameter will be demonstrated. A variation of drilling principles are studied and the advantages as much as the disadvantages are discussed.

This paper is devoted to the laser irradiated joints between glass and polyimide. To facilitate bonding between them, a thin titanium film with a thickness of approximately 0.2 μm was deposited on glass wafers using the physical vapor deposition (PVD) process. Two sets of samples were fabricated where the bonds were created using diode and fiber lasers. The samples were subjected to tension using a microtester for bond strength measurements. The failure strengths of the bonds generated using fiber laser are quite consistent, while a wide variation of failure strengths are observed for the bonds generated with diode laser. Few untested samples were sectioned and the microstructures near the bond areas were studied using an optical microscope. The images revealed the presence of a sharp crack in the glass substrate near the bond generated with the diode laser. However, no such crack was observed in the samples made using fiber laser. To investigate further the reasons behind such discrepancy in bond quality, three-dimensional uncoupled finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted for both types of samples. The transient heat diffusion-based FEA model utilizes the laser power intensity distribution as a time dependent heat source to calculate the temperature distribution within the substrates as a function of time.

Laser-fabricated joints of sub-millimeter widths between biocompatible, dissimilar materials have the potential for application as encapsulation of miniature implantable biomedical devices. In this work, we briefly describe the laser joining method of a very promising system, polyimide/titanium-coated borosilicate glass, and present results from characterization of such laser joints by means of mechanical failure (tensile) tests, optical and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy. Our results suggest that the formation of the joints is a result of the creation of strong chemical bonds between Ti-containing species and certain polymeric functional groups. Mechanical tensile strength failure testing showed that such joints experience some degradation as a result of soaking in physiological solutions. This degradation is limited and, even after relatively long-term exposure the joints retain considerable strength.