ArF-excimer laser ablation experiments on Cycloolefin Copolymer (COC)

To determine the capability of Cycloolefin Copolymer (COC) for excimer laser microstructuring, ablation experiments have been performed at 193 nm using an ArF excimer laser workstation. A matrix of square holes was structured in COC, the ablated structures were examined qualitatively and quantitatively by optical methods and scanning electron microscopy. It turned out that COC can be structured with high accuracy and is therefore suited for laser rapid prototyping of micro optical and microfluidic devices. The maximum ablation depth of COC (0.17 μm/pulse) is smaller than of PMMA (0.58 μm/pulse), but is sufficient for prototyping and allows fine depth tuning. Flat structures less than 200-μm deep nearly show no amount of redeposited material and yield smooth surfaces.