ECLIPSE: Collaborative Research: Understanding Material Removal in High-Resolution, High-throughput Magnetically Enhanced Laser Induced Plasma Micromachining

This Ecosystem for Leading Innovation in Plasma Science and Engineering (ECLIPSE) grant supports research that contributes new knowledge related to a novel manufacturing process called magnetically enhanced laser induced plasma (M-ELIP) micromachining, promoting the progress of science, and benefiting US industries. This manufacturing process uses plasma generated by a laser to create complex micro-components. Such micro-scale components are critical for semiconductor and optical electronics, biomedical implants, wearable devices, solar cells, and electromechanical aerospace and defense parts. Compared to existing techniques, the process planned in this project can increase the geometric resolution of such components by at least three-fold while increasing their production speed by two and a half times. This award supports fundamental research to understand laser-plasma-magnetic field-workpiece interactions. Given the above applications, the results from this research impact the production and operational functionality of components that are foundational to the Nation’s prosperity and security. This collaborative multi-institutional project involves several disciplines including manufacturing, modeling, sensing, and machine learning and broadens the participation and education of women and underrepresented minority students in manufacturing and engineering. Current limitations of the state-of-the-art micromilling methods such as laser-induced plasma and direct laser ablation are limited in planar resolution and aspect ratio. The enhanced magnetically assisted laser induced plasma (E-MLIP) micromilling process involves focusing a pulsed laser inside a dielectric liquid to create a plasma at the focal spot, simultaneously shaping the plasma via an external magnetic field, and bringing the plasma in contact with the workpiece located inside the liquid to remove material. E-MLIP overcomes the limitations of planar resolution and aspect ratio of the machined features in laser-induced plasma (LIP) and direct laser ablation (DLA) micromilling. This research addresses the knowledge gaps on the physical mechanisms of material removal in E-MLIP. The research team performs experiments to characterize material removal and defect formation, develops physics-based models to explain and predict the mechanisms that drive such material removal and flaw formation, and uses a combination of in-situ acoustic-based sensing and electromagnetic finite element analysis to detect and correct defects during the process. Together, these tasks enable a physics- and sensor-data informed defect correction paradigm for understanding and scaling the magnetically enhanced laser induced plasma micromachining process in a cost-effective manner. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.