Optimized temporal energy deposition for advanced processing of Si and SiC based on highly flexible TruMicro series 2000

Within the last decade, ultrafast laser micromachining has found broad applications in a variety of scientific and industrial fields. Likewise, green technologies like E-mobility, photovoltaics or wind power plants have become essential in helping to protect our environment within the last years. Such advancements as well as improvements concerning other electronic devices are profiting from a continuous progress in semiconductor development. Hereby, among other wide-gap semiconductors, SiC is a key material for the production of many high power electronic devices due to its beneficial material properties. Compared to Si-based devices, electronic elements based on SiC enable higher voltages or an increase of general device efficiency. Since well-established production technologies for Si are often not directly transferrable to the machining of SiC, efficient and productive laser-based micromachining calls for extensive parameter studies prior to volume production. In this contribution, we show a comparison of ultra-short pulsed Si- and SiC-machining, as well as different benefits of highly flexible laser systems like the TruMicro series 2000. Choosing an optimized temporal energy deposition on a short- to ultra-short timescale can address a variety of machining aspects like ablation efficiency and surface quality. Using the unique features of the TruMicro series 2000, the temporal energy deposition can be influenced during operation on a femto- up to a microsecond timescale by tuning parameters such as the ultrashort pulse duration or employing bursts in the MHz- and GHz-regime. This enhanced flexibility leads to comprehensive and automated parameter studies that allow for next- generation process understanding.