Micro-Nano Processing: Femtosecond Laser vs. Picosecond Laser – How to Choose Tool?
In high-precision fields such as microelectronic manufacturing, medical device R...
MONO | 2025-11
INDUSTRY
Polymers are increasingly used in fields like medical devices and consumer electronics due to their light weight, corrosion resistance, and insulating properties.This has led to a growing demand for high-precision processing techniques such as drilling, cutting, film removal, and texturing. However, polymers are highly sensitive to heat, and traditional processing methods can cause significant Heat-Affected Zones (HAZ), warping, and carbonization. With their ultrashort pulses and "cold processing" capabilities, femtosecond lasers provide an unprecedented level of precision and quality for polymer machining.
What Are Polymers?
How do we distinguish between "polymers," "polymeric materials," and "plastics"? A polymer is a long-chain macromolecular compound formed by many repeating monomer units; this defines its chemical nature. Polymeric materials, on the other hand, are practical materials formed with polymers as their main component, combined with various additives to meet specific application needs. Common examples include plastics, rubber, and synthetic fibers. The vast majority of polymeric materials are classified as polymers.
High precision and excellent surface quality are key requirements for manufacturing polymer products in precision mechanics, electronics, medical, and optical applications. This is especially true for miniature polymer devices in the medical field, such as microfluidic chips and drug delivery systems.
Improving the Quality of Polymer Processing
One of the most critical challenges in polymer manufacturing is temperature sensitivity.Because polymers have relatively low melting points, they can easily soften and deform due to heat during processing, which affects their elasticity and mechanical properties.
Thermal expansion is another obstacle. The expansion coefficient of polymers can be ten times that of metals. Contraction and warping during cooling can lead to significant geometric errors, causing dimensional incompatibility issues, especially in the assembly of some MEMS devices.
Due to these challenges, lasers are often used for polymer processing, enabling high-precision cutting with small kerf widths to create complex geometries at the micron scale. The interaction between the laser and the material is primarily determined by laser power, pulse duration, wavelength, and the material's absorption characteristics.
Nanosecond and picosecond lasers have longer pulse durations, which allow heat to diffuse into the surrounding material. For metals, free electrons can quickly conduct and dissipate this heat, preventing damage. Polymers, however, lack free electrons and are highly susceptible to degradation, melting, or discoloration.
Femtosecond lasers have a pulse duration of one quadrillionth of a second (1 fs = 10⁻¹⁵s). Energy is delivered so quickly that the material is vaporized or ionized before heat can penetrate the bulk, resulting in a near-zero heat-affected zone. This process is also known as "cold processing" or "cold ablation".The resulting products feature high precision, clean edges, and minimal contamination.
Comparison of Blind Hole Drilling in Polycarbonate with Nanosecond vs. Femtosecond Lasers
(A) Nanosecond Laser Processing: The edge of the polycarbonate blind hole shows significant over-melting and prominent signs of thermal damage.
(B) Femtosecond Laser Processing: The edge of the polycarbonate blind hole shows almost no melting. The processed surface is smooth, and the heat-affected zone is negligible.
MONO Polymer Micromachining Solutions
We provide micron-scale, high-quality femtosecond laser micro-drilling, etching, and cutting services for various polymers (including engineering plastics), as well as customized mass production equipment.
Medical Device Manufacturing Solutions
In the medical device field, processing precision and material biocompatibility are paramount. The non-thermal damage characteristic of femtosecond lasers ensures the chemical stability and structural integrity of polymer materials.
MONO's femtosecond laser equipment can perform high-precision drilling on thin-walled tubes made of different materials like polyimide (PI) and PEEK. The resulting hole walls are clean with no molten residue, and there is no damage to the opposite wall, effectively ensuring the reliability of catheter functions.
Femtosecond Laser Drilling of a PI Medical Catheter
Core Features: Extremely small (not visible to the naked eye) heat-affected zone, no damage to the opposite wall structure, smooth hole walls without molten residue, meeting the biocompatibility and functional reliability requirements for medical catheters.
Femtosecond Laser Drilling of a PDMS Cell Filter Membrane
Technical Parameters: Aperture size 8.3μm ± 1μm, uniform hole distribution, no out-of-tolerance deviations in hole diameter.
Application Value: Meets the core requirements of cell filtration scenarios for "precise aperture + no debris contamination."
Miniaturization and Flexibilization in Consumer Electronics
Femtosecond lasers are driving consumer electronics products to become smaller, thinner, and more flexible. MONO's femtosecond laser equipment can cut related polymer materials, achieving extremely small kerf widths and excellent edge quality.
Femtosecond Laser Cutting of a Glass Fabric-Based Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
Processing Advantages: Supports customized inner radii (meeting the needs of complex PCB structural designs), high-gloss cut surface (no burrs, no carbonization), eliminating the need for subsequent polishing.
Adaptability Value: Aligns with the trend of "miniaturized, highly integrated" PCB designs in consumer electronics.
Femtosecond Laser Cutting of expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE)
Core Data: Kerf width controllable at 0.046mm ± 1μm, no fiber protrusion at the cutting edge, and the material's original flexibility is preserved.
Application Scenario: Suitable for processing flexible consumer electronic components, such as protective sleeves for flexible circuits.
Femtosecond Laser Profile Cutting of Conductive Fabric (Fiber + Metal Coating)
Processing Characteristics: Cutting edge is free of burrs and carbonization, with no damage to the conductive layer (ensuring stable conductive performance).
Adaptability Value: Facilitates the precision manufacturing of "flexible" components for consumer electronics, such as flexible touch controls and electrodes for wearable devices.
Functional Microstructure Mold Manufacturing
Femtosecond lasers can also perform micro- and nano-scale texturing on material surfaces, imparting new functionalities.This has broad application prospects in fields such as biomedicine and optics. When applied to injection molds, it enables the mass production of high-precision, highly repeatable polymer parts.
PDMS Microneedle Array
Processing Precision: Capable of directly etching complex 3D microstructures (including the microneedle body and a tunable tapered tip) with a dimensional accuracy of ±1μm and an array height consistency of >99%.
Application Advantage: The sharpness of the microneedle tips meets skin puncture requirements for applications like glucose monitoring patches.
Femtosecond Laser Etching of a Polyimide Bump Structure
Technical Parameters: Bump structure height of 26μm ± 2μm, surface roughness Ra ≤ 0.2μm.
Adaptable Scenarios: Meets the micro-texturing manufacturing needs for flexible electronics and micro-sensors.
Conclusion
Leveraging the advantages of "cold processing," femtosecond laser technology overcomes the thermal damage challenges of traditional methods, elevating the precision, quality, and efficiency of polymer processing to new heights. MONO's femtosecond laser solutions help customers break through material processing bottlenecks, transform innovative ideas into practical applications, and expand the boundaries of polymer applications. We welcome you to discuss more case studies with us.
