UV Laser
Details
Specific instructions and guidance are now on the Communal UV Laser GoogleDoc
The laser is a diode-pumped solid state (DPSS) laser that has been frequency-tripled into the UV range. It uses a galvo and f-theta lens to rapidly pattern areas up to about 8cm^2 with a spot size in the ~15um range, if properly focused. It is good for cutting and marking thin sheets of many materials. By controlling the speed and repetition rate or duty cycle one can ensure ablation of materials without much local melting. Empirical cut parameters for various materials are in the Googledoc listed above.
Location and access
The laser is currently in a room off of MERL129. Access is managed by CDR and requires getting card access via building manager. The laser is delicate and precise, so nobody should be using it without training. The CDR admin is Gosia Wojciechowska. There are several students in BDML and Charm lab who know how to use it properly and can provide informal training.
Reserve on the calendar using the calendly link.
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Useful links:
There is a Google Spreadsheet of trained users. Several of the senior members on this list are good contacts for training new users.
- Notes from SURI student MarkCuson on experiments cutting thin copper-coated kapton and metallized mylar during summer 2014.
- PhD Thesis of Andrew Baisch at Harvard with some details on using a DPSS UV laser to fabricate insect robot structures and printed circuits (p. 19)
- Tech. report by Jaakko Karras at Berkeley with some details on fabricating sensors for OctoRoach and similar robots.
Related links on film selection (Mylar vs Kapton, etc)
- UC Berkeley Micro Drug Delivery System uses a method of priming PDMS and Mylar with oxygen plasma so that they can be permanently bonded
- 25 micron Kapton metallized with 50-100nm aluminum (but very expensive)
Status
19 July 2022: 
TonyChen: With Crystal’s help I installed the backup power unit to our UV Laser today, with the UV laser active on + chiller we have approximately 10 minutes before the battery runs out, and much much longer if the UV is not actively on -- which should give us enough time to shut everything down gracefully in case of a long power outage again.
June 24 2022 The UV laser did not suffer damage in this summer's power outage.
July 2021 The UV laser suffered damage in a campus-wide power outage. A new chiller is ordered to repair it.
July 2014: It has arrived and is undergoing its "shakedown cruise." Should be able to make very small (down to 10-15um wide) cuts in a wide range of thin materials (<1mm thick).
- Spec sheet
- Aerotech PRO115 Stage (two on top of each other -> XY stage)
Maintenance
A spreadsheet is being maintained to log laser power output to aid diagnostics. The spreadsheet also contains tools to help with temperature tuning.
The user manual, electronic service procedure, and mechanical service procedure are also archived here for convenience. They may also be found from the DPSS Lasers web page.