The folks at Raydiance believe that femtosecond lasers will
transform glass-cutting display applications, much as they have made
significant contributions to micromachining solutions in the medical and
automotive industries.
Raydiance Chief Scientist Michael Mielke told me this morning that
his company's "R-Cut" solution can perform free-form cuts in Gorilla
Glass and other materials, as well as drilling micro-holes and other precise
features, and can produce cover-glass parts at half the cost of mechanical
singulation methods. The cost savings are due in large part to the fact that
femtosecond-laser cuts have an excellent finish and require no further
polishing or smoothing steps, said Senior VP of Marketing Stefan Zschiegner.
Raydiance had held off introducing its process to the display
community until it had prepared a complete solution. The company formally introduced
the system today at Display Week. The solution includes sophisticated software
control of the laser that makes it easy for operators to define new shapes and
features. The system, said Mielke, is suitable for rapid prototyping as well as
production. Zschiegner added that the system has been developed in cooperation
with manufacturers.
Until now, conventional mechanical glass-cutting has stubbornly
refused to give way to laser separation. Raydiance tells a convincing story
that this state of affairs may soon begin to change. -- Ken Werner
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