UV Laser Bonding of Optical Devices on Polymers

Abstract:

UV curing adhesives have been introduced for bonding various materials at a room temperature. It has the advantage of putting minimum thermal load on the system; however, it is not suitable for precision bonding of micro systems such as micro optical devices because of its high viscosity and poor control of the UV light source. In the present work, a laser-curing bonding process of micro optical devices with a low-viscosity UV polymer adhesive has been developed. A focused Nd:YVO4 laser beam with a spot size of 30 µm with a laser power of 100 ~ 700 mW is used for curing a UV adhesive locally. A thin bonding layer with a thickness of a few hundred nanometers without any thermal effects can be obtained for precision laser bonding for optical fibers. Experimental results are provided and the process characteristics have been discussed. Moreover, potential applications in the field of micro optical systems are introduced as well.