Abstract
Laser thermochemical writing is a powerful technique for direct recording of planar structures performed by a local laser oxidation of thin metal films. It is commonly used for producing diffraction optical elements, and a main challenge in this field is a necessity of a resolution enhancement. The presented article provides a theoretical analysis and the discussion of physical–chemical and processing factors that should be taken into account to raise a resolution. It is shown for example that writing on a thin chromium film by multiple low-power laser beams simultaneously few times subsequently allows to provide a recording with high resolution (up to 4 lines per µm) and productivity.
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Acknowledgments
Authors would like to thank A.G. Poleschuk’s research group for conducting the experimental work that underlies the theoretical modeling. The work is supported by grants from Russian Foundation for Basic Research 14-29-07227 and from Russian Science Foundation 14-12-00351.
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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Laser technologies and laser applications.
Guest Edited by José Figueiredo, José Rodrigues, Nikolai A. Sobolev, Paulo André and Rui Guerra.
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Veiko, V.P., Shakhno, E.A. & Sinev, D.A. Laser thermochemical writing: pursuing the resolution. Opt Quant Electron 48, 322 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-016-0594-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-016-0594-y