Micro/Nano processing

Technical Background

  • The quality requirements on aperture size and slit width in precision drilling and cutting have increased immensely due to the technology trend of minuaturization. In this context, high-precision helical drilling optics (HDO) has been invented and offers hightest machining technology for metal and non-metal materials if used with ultra-short laser radiation. In addition, HDO offers the flexibility and process stability of controlled micro-aperture taper for the preparation of vertical or positive and negative tapered micro-apertures and for controlling the tilt and width of the cut in the cutting processes.
  • Since the first introduction to the global market in 2008, the helical drilling technology has undergone several optical and system developments to make it suitable for current and upcoming higher processing requirements. Today‘s seventh generation HDO v7 can be used in three different wavelength ranges: UV, green and IR. In addition, the HDO v7 successfully uses a modular design, separating the core rotary module and the processing observation module, and standardizing the interface to enable full integration into different processing systems. The HDO v7 is becoming a key enabler for wide range of applications for micro-holes in high-end products such as turbine blades & functional surfaces.

Why Helical Drilling Technology?

Roundness
>0.94

Precision
<±2 µm

Aspect-Ratio
> 30:1

Conicity
±15°

F.A.Q.

By using the HDO, we can drill a microhole with Ø10 µm in 100 µm thickness.

The achievable maximum aspect-ratio (depth to hole diameter) depends on the thickness of material. The following data is for reference:

Material thickness Achievable aspect-ratio
0.1 mm 10:1
1 mm 30:1
3 mm 50:1


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Positive and negative conical holes with taper angle ± 15° as well as cylindrical holes can be shaped by HDO using a classic helical drilling process.

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Since the ultrashort fast lasers have nearly no selectivity of materials, this is also applicable for micromachining with HDO.

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Generally, the holes fabricated by HDO are rotationally symmetric ones using a classic helical drilling process. However, by means of helical contour cutting, rectangular holes as well as other irregular holes can be drilled.

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For a high-precision production we suggest using ultrashort pulse lasers with pulse duration below 15 picoseconds. The wavelength can be IR (1010-1070nm), Green (510-540 nm) and UV (340-360 nm).

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The main HDO modules consist of rotating module and focusing/processing module. The rotating module lies on the granite platform and the focusing/processing module (Weight 4 kg) can be mounted on a z axis

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