Claims
- 1. A laser sintering method, comprising providing a material on a substrate, completely sintering the material on the substrate and enhancing adhesion of the material to the substrate without damaging the substrate.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sintering comprises providing a laser for sintering the material.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the sintering comprises interacting energy from the laser with the material to be sintered and with the substrate thereby allowing for a complete heating process.
- 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising heating a top of the material by the laser, heating a bottom of the material by the substrate, and allowing a thermal spread throughout the material for sintering of the material completely.
- 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising controlling adhesion of the material on the substrate by maintaining a similar temperature between the substrate and the material for enhancing adhesion.
- 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the controlling further comprises stopping the adhesion by causing a temperature difference between the substrate and the material such that a temperature gradient stops the adhesion.
- 7. The method of claim 2, wherein the sintering comprises interacting the laser with the material and the substrate with controlled exposure times for providing complete heating.
- 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising allowing diffusion of heat for sintering throughout the material.
- 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the sintering comprises injecting high energy into the material with the laser and translating injected energy to heat.
- 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining absorption behavior and determining effects of pulse duration.
- 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising obtaining peak power in a gigawatt range with low energy per pulse and with short pulses.
- 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising controlling and optimizing pulse duration.
- 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the controlling comprises providing shorter pulse duration, confining interaction of the laser energy to a surface of the material on the substrate and sintering a thin top layer of the material but not a middle layer or a bottom layer of the material.
- 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the controlling comprises providing shorter pulse duration thereby controlling penetration depth of the energy into the material for sintering the material as desired.
- 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the controlling comprises controlling the pulse duration and making the penetration depth equal to a thickness of the material.
- 16. The method of claim 10, further comprising monitoring behavior of thermal wave of the energy throughout the material with a thermal-imaging camera.
- 17. The method of claim 1, further comprising coating the substrate with a shield and protecting the substrate from laser damage during the sintering process.
- 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the coating with the shield comprises coating the substrate with a thermal barrier coating and protecting the substrate from damage.
- 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising forming electronic components by the sintering while protecting the substrate from damage.
- 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the substrate is a low temperature substrate.
- 21. The method of claim 2, wherein the sintering comprises sintering at least one thin top layer of the material.
- 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising forming a highly reflective mirror with the sintered top layer, reflecting and diverting energy from the laser, and preventing sintering from occurring throughout the material deposited on the substrate.
- 23. The method of claim 22, further comprising ensuring reproducibility through a feedback control system.
- 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the feedback control system is a pyrometer having a small spot size.
- 25. The method of claim 23, further comprising providing an output of the pyrometer to a computing device.
- 26. The method of claim 25, further comprising controlling the laser with the computing device responsive to a processing of the output for an active thermal feedback in controlling the laser.
- 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the feedback is open-loop or closed-loop feedback.
- 28. The method of claim 26, further comprising providing an interface for real time use by end users.
- 29. Apparatus for sintering, comprising a substrate, a material to be sintered on the substrate, and at least one laser for sintering the material.
- 30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the at least one laser comprises a laser selected from the group consisting of C02 laser, diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser, and combinations thereof.
- 31. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising a computing device for receiving and processing data and automatically controlling sintering operation.
- 32. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising a protective layer on the substrate.
- 33. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the substrate is a low temperature substrate and wherein the protective layer is a protective thermal barrier for preventing damage to the substrate during sintering and for enhancing adhesion of the material to the substrate.
- 34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the thermal barrier is an aerogel.
- 35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the substrate, the material, and the protective thermal barrier form an electronic component.
- 36. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising a feedback control system coupled to the computing device.
- 37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the feedback control system is a pyrometer with a small spot size.
- 38. The apparatus of claim 37, further comprising output from the pyrometer being provided to the computing device for processing and controlling an output of the laser.
- 39. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the feedback control system is an open-loop feedback system.
- 40. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the feedback control system is a closed-loop feedback system.
- 41. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the material has a shape.
- 42. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the substrate has a shape.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/198,377 filed Apr. 19, 2000.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60198377 |
Apr 2000 |
US |