This month we are highlighting the Optec Femtosecond Laser Micromachining System, which is located in the Pettit Building in lab 148. The Georgia Tech Optec Femtosecond laser is an OPTEC WS-Flex USP system that uses a femtosecond laser to process practically any material through ultra-short laser pulses photo-ablation. The ultra-short laser pulse is effective on polymers, metal, ceramics, glass, single crystals, and polymorphic crystals. Materials are ionized by the laser pulse and removed from the surface in a plasma cloud, leaving a clean surface at the interaction site. Contrary to typical thermal laser operations, the femtosecond laser is not as sensitive to wavelength absorption and therefore offers minimum thermal, creating a no heat-affected zone on the part.

Applications include cutting, milling, drilling, tube processing, composite material cutting, scribing, and surface structuring.

This month we are highlighting the Keyence VK-X3000 3D Surface Profiler, which performs non-contact profile, roughness, and film thickness measurements with nanometer-level resolution on any material or shape. Unlike other 3D measurement systems, objects with steep angles or low reflectivity can be accurately measured. It is the world’s first optical profiler to offer a triple scan approach, allowing users three different scanning methods in a single device: laser confocal, focus variation, and white light interferometry.

Location: Pettit Microelectronics Building | Room 148