For the past 30 years, the predominant method of singulating ceramic substrates and hole drilling involved using a pulsed CO2 laser. Although pulsed CO2 laser cutting offers advantages in speed, but having jagged and uneven side edges as well as significant melted slag residue. Pulsed CO2 laser cutting also leads to distortion of the interior structure of the ceramic surface, resulting in structurally weak components. Specifically, the strength of the ceramic substrate is reduced, decreasing its ability to withstand thermal or mechanical stress. However, recent technological advances in component miniaturization, metallization at the ceramic surface and drilling small holes, circuit components of this density and/or thickness cannot tolerate such uneven side edges, slag residue, and micro-cracks resulting from IR (CO2 Laser) or near IR (1064 nm), therefore visible (532 nm) and UV 355 nm lasers are playing an important role in current high end ceramic processes.
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Ceramic Process
