Services

We offer our customers a full line of ENGINEERING, operations and management services:

Our LASER technology services:

Dry Laser Cleaning: It’s a Clean, Pristine and Green Process!

The current trend the microelectronics industry of line-width reduction is leading to very stringent contamination standards. These standards require elaborate cleaning techniques. Furthermore, the new paradigm in electronics and display production has moved towards high speed fabrication techniques similar to printing presses. The traditionally slower cleaning methods used in the microelectronics and display industry create bottlenecks for these new, streamlined processes. If the electronics industry is to continue to progress, industry must step forward with tools that can help.

Genesis Engineering Solutions is currently developing Dry Laser Cleaning tools to meet current and future needs of the electronics industries. As its name implies, Dry Laser Cleaning (DLC) is a dry process for cleaning surfaces, in contrast to wet cleaning methods, which utilize liquids to remove particulates from surfaces. There are distinct advantages to a dry cleaning process, the first of which are a reduction in the number of steps required to clean a surface since there is no need for the intermediate steps associated with solvent removal. Additionally, the technique is a green technology since there are no hazardous substances, such as volatile organics or solvents, consumed or produced in our process. Finally this technique can be used on hygroscopic (sensitive to humidity/moisture) materials.

Currently, GES is creating partnerships with current and future leaders in industry to deploy our DLC technology, customized to suit our customer’s specific needs and requirements. Please contact GES for any questions regarding our DLC technology and how it can be fit your specific needs.

Laser-Material Interactions:

Irradiation of laser light on materials results in several different effects, three of which are transmittance, reflectance and absorbance. All optics are designed with a certain level of transmittance, reflectance and absorbance, depending on the specific application of the optic. However, when deviations or changes in the optical properties are observed, the integrity of the whole system is in jeopardy. In some cases, physical damage of the material occurs. The presence of contaminants accelerates the laser induced damage threshold of the material.

GES has been studying the laser-material interactions in the presence of different outgassing materials for the aerospace industry. In space-based laser systems, several flight-approved materials (adhesives, sealants, epoxies) that are being used do outgas under vacuum conditions. The outgas compounds can make their way onto the sensitive and delicate optics that are housed within the laser cavity and optical train. The presence of molecular contaminants, are in many ways more detrimental to the project than particulate contaminants. Molecular contaminants are not readily verifiable (observable with naked eye), they are ubiquitous and their long term damage effects may not be noticed until after launch, by which it is too late. The expected end of life performance of the system may not be met.

GES has designed specific environmental chambers to test for laser induced damage on optics due to presence of contaminants. An RGA is housed in the chamber to monitor the unique contaminant signature and a thermal quartz microbalance (TQCM) is utilized to monitor the molecular deposition thickness. The environmental conditions of the chamber can be customized to cater to suit different customer needs and requirements, such as pressure and types of gas presence. Different types of contaminants can also be introduced into the chamber. Our chamber design allows for introduction of either a gas, liquid or solid (outgas from solid) contaminant. A custom optical mount will house the optic of interest within the chamber, exposed to the contaminant.

Please contact GES for your needs in Laser-Material Interactions.

 

Technical Descriptions

Dry Laser Cleaning

The major forces that typically bind a particle to a surface are van der Waals, electrostatic, and capillary force, with Van der Waals force most often being the dominant adhesion force for particulate-based contaminants in the low micron to submicron size. As the particle decreases in size it becomes increasingly difficult to remove from a surface and special techniques are required. Molecular-based contaminants are bound to a surface by chemical bonding forces, i.e. ionic bonding, covalent bonding, hydrogen bonding, …, etc.

In Dry Laser Cleaning, the contaminants are removed from a surface by imparting force into the particle by either direct or indirect application of the laser light while maintaining the surface integrity. In the direct application of the laser light to the contaminant, the energy from the laser is absorbed by the contaminant and minimized in the substrate. The energy is subsequently converted to heat which either causes a change in state of the material (vaporization) or creates mechanical (elastic) force by thermal expansion of the materials. The indirect method utilizes a medium to transfer the laser energy to the particle, such as the application of pressure to the contaminants from a focused pulsed laser beam.

Since Dry Laser Cleaning circumvents the use of solvents for cleaning, the technique reduces waste, is suitable for processes where the materials are sensitive to solvents/humidity (hygroscopic materials, etc), and reduces the need for additional drying steps/time in the manufacturing process. The contaminants are swept away by a constant flow of carrier gas across the surface, which may be safely collected on a filter outside of the manufacturing process.

 

Laser Optical Damage

Understanding the interaction of laser light with surfaces is important in determining the lifetime and risk assessment of optical materials in critical applications. Typically, optical damage occurs through an interaction of the intense electric field of laser light with the material itself or contaminants on or in the material. Generally, the damage mechanism can be viewed as three processes: thermal process, dielectric breakdown and multiphoton ionization. The actual damage of material may be caused by one process or combination of multiple processes.

Genesis Engineering Solutions has the capabilities to explore Contaminant-Based Laser Damage by direct measurement of both the contaminants and resulting damage of the material.

GES has experience in measuring space-based contamination of optical systems for NASA and other companies by determining the flight worthiness of materials used in these systems. For further information on how GES can assist in your testing, please contact our technical leads.

Facilities

Genesis Engineering Solutions maintains facilities for Dry Laser Cleaning and Laser Optical Damage. The facilities consist of the following:

Dry Laser Cleaning Facilities:

Laser Damage Facilities:

 

Please contact us for a detailed description of our capabilities and the services Genesis Engineering Solutions can provide for you.

Dr. Chad Sheng
(301) 886-8235
Dr. Robert Bousquet
(301) 552-1462

 
 Systems