Patent Application
20080280114
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to methods for depositing a target material onto a substrate, and more particularly, to a method for depositing metal onto a substrate by laser deposition, to a laser deposition system for performing the method, and to a housing made by the method.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically, processes for depositing inorganic material or metal onto an article can be performed by vacuum deposition processes, for example, physical vapor deposition, magnetron sputtering deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and so on. The vacuum deposition processes is suitable to form large area coatings on an exposed portion of an article. However, the vacuum deposition processes is not suitable to deposit material to form a predetermined pattern.
In order to forming a predetermined pattern on a surface of an article by the vacuum deposition processes, a printing process is necessary to be employed to assist the formation of the predetermined pattern. During the formation process of the predetermined pattern, a decorative coating is firstly formed onto the surface of the article by any one of the vacuum deposition processes. Secondly, an ink coating is applied onto the decorative coating to form a predetermined pattern using the printing process. Thirdly, the article is immersed into an etching solution to remove a portion of the decorative coating, which is not covered by the ink coating. Finally, the ink coating is removed from the decorative coating by using an organic solution. Thus, the predetermined pattern is remained on the surface of the article, as the decorative coating is partially removed according to the predetermined pattern. However, the vacuum deposition process with the assistance of the printing process cannot achieve a desired precision of the predetermined pattern. Further, as many complex processes are employed, the printing process results in increase of the cost of forming the predetermined pattern and is time consuming.
Therefore, an improved method for depositing a target material onto a substrate is desired in order to overcome the above-described shortcomings.
In one embodiment thereof, a laser deposition system for depositing a target material onto a substrate is provided. The laser deposition system includes a laser emitter, a target, and a substrate. The laser emitter is configured to emit a laser beam. The target has a first surface, with the laser beam shining onto the first surface. The laser beam generates a vaporized target material from the first surface of the target. The substrate is disposed between the laser emitter and the target so that the laser beam can transmit through the substrate and project onto the first surface of the target. The vaporized target material is cooled and deposited on the substrate.
Other advantages and novel features will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Many aspects of the method for depositing a target material onto a substrate can be better understood with reference to the following drawing. The components in the drawing are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the method for depositing a target material onto a substrate. Moreover, in the drawing like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Referring to
The target 12 has a first surface 121 and a second surface 122 on the opposite side of the first surface 121. The target 12 is disposed on the work base 11, with the second surface 122 attached to the work base 11. The first surface 121 of the target 12 is shaped similar to that of the substrate 20, which is prearranged to receive the target material. The target 12 may be made of a metal selected from the group consisting of copper, aluminum, titanium, steel, silver, chromium, tin, and alloys thereof.
The servo manipulator 13 is movably disposed above the target 11 and configured to hold the laser emitter 15. The laser emitter 15 is mounted on the servo manipulator 13 and configured to emit a laser beam 150 vertically incident upon the first surface 121 of the target 12. The control system 17 is a programmable control system, which is electronically connected to the servo manipulator 13 and configured to drive the servo manipulator 13 to move along a predetermined path. The control system 17 may be further configured to record information of the ornamental pattern 40 (referring to
The substrate 20 is made of a partially transparent material such as glass or polycarbonate resin thin film. The substrate 20 is disposed between the target 12 and the laser emitter 15, with a surface of the substrate 20 facing the target 12. The substrate 20 can be in close proximity to or in contact with the first surface 121 of the target 12. A distance between the first surface 121 of the target 12 and the substrate 20 is less than 500 microns. The laser beam 150 first penetrates through the substrate 20 and then projects on the first surface 121 of the target 12.
An exemplary method for depositing the target material onto the substrate 20 is provided.
Firstly, the laser deposition system 10 is provided. The laser deposition system 10 is actuated. The substrate 20 is then disposed between the target 12 and the laser emitter 15. The substrate 20 can be in close proximity to or in contact with the first surface 121 of the target 12, with a distance less than 500 microns between the first surface 121 of the target 12 and the substrate 20.
The laser emitter 15 is actuated to emit the laser beam 150 penetrating through the substrate 20 and shining on the first surface 121 of the target 12. As the laser beam 150 projects on the first surface 121 of the target 12, the heat of the laser beam 50 partially melts the projected portion of the target 12. Thus, a target material 120 is vaporized and ejected from the projected portion of the first surface 121 of the target 12. The vaporized target material 120 is then cooled and deposited onto a surface of the substrate 20, which is close to the target 12. The gap between the target 12 and the substrate 20 is narrow to prevent the vaporized target material 120 from developing into a plume. A fine deposited spot on the surface of the substrate 20 can be obtained, with a diameter of the deposited spot substantially varying according to the diameter of the laser beam 150.
The control system 17 is actuated for driving the servo manipulator 13 and the laser emitter 15 to move according to the controlling signal generated from the information of the ornamental pattern 40. Thus, the laser beam 150 is moved to form the lines of the ornamental pattern 40 according to the controlling signal. Accordingly, as the vaporized target material is deposited onto the surface of the substrate 20 during the movement of the laser beam 150, the deposited spot on the substrate 20 is also moved to form the lines of the ornamental pattern 40. As such, the metal coating 41 is formed to define the lines of the ornamental pattern 40, with a width of each of the lines varying according to the diameter of the laser beam 150.
During the exemplary method for depositing the target material onto the substrate 20, it is not necessary to perform the method in a vacuum or in an electrical field. The target 12 can be repeatedly used in the exemplary method, which reduces the consumption of the target material.
It should be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200710074325.4 | May 2007 | CN | national |
