The Photonics Laboratory at the ATMC contains an Excimer Laser based Micro-Machining Center with the capability of processing a wide range of materials. The ultra-violet light produced by the laser allows most materials to be directly removed layer by layer by a process called direct ablation, which supplies a minimal amount of heat to the material surrounding the machined feature. Materials that can be processed by uv ablation include plastics, glass, ceramics, metals and most biological materials. The minimum feature size that can be produced is dependent on processing parameters such as the depth of features and the material being processed but features of less than one micron are possible.

Current ATMC projects include micro-channel based chemical processing systems in glass and plastics, processing of metal parts for medical products, patterning of cylindrical components for radio frequency antennas, precise machining of components for electronic application. One interesting aspect of the excimer laser micro-machining is that a full pattern of detailed features can be machined at one time by an off contact imaging process.

The Photonics Laboratory is particularly suited for process development and prototype production. The technical staff of the ATMC has extensive industrial experience in both excimer laser processing and more conventional production techniques. Therefore, not only will the ATMC be able to produce prototype hardware to exacting specifications but when it is time to commit an industrial product to production the ATMC will help industrial partners engineer the appropriate production solution.