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Wirestripping.
Excimer laser stripping of 46-50 AWG wires for the suspension
arms of hard disk drives was the process of choice for much of the
1990’s. High
dimensional accuracy, superb repeatability, and lack of damage to
the Cu wire were the key features available to customers.
While the disk drive industry has migrated to suspension
flex, stripping of any fine wire with lasers is still a viable
process where the above qualities are desired. |
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Medical Device
Manufacture.
A wide variety of applications have embraced laser processing over the
years. Which laser source is
used is dependent on the specifics of the material interaction
required. Note that the
pulse-by-pulse material removal available with an excimer, diode-pumped
solid state UV laser, or TEA-CO2 laser allows controlled-depth
machining in a broad range of polymeric materials.
Flexible systems for R&D and prototyping can be provided, or a
dedicated high volume workstation for production requirements can be
designed for your specific needs. |
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Typical applications include: catheter drilling
and machining (e.g. PEEK, polyurethane) and parylene removal from
implantable devices (e.g. pacemakers). Due to the lower
absorbance and higher thermal conductivity of any metal substrate
(compared to the polymer coating), the polymers can be efficiently
removed without threat of damage to the underlying metal surface. |
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Flat panel displays.
The main laser process that can be used for flat panel
display manufacture is the patterning of thin films.
The films can be either ITO (indium tin oxide) on glass or
polymer substrates, or thin metal films (e.g. nickel or gold) on
glass or polymer substrates. Edge
quality and flexibility usually lead to a solution based around a
diode-pumped solid state laser operating in the UV at high
repetition rates.
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