Manufacturing Technology 2025, 25(4):521-530 | DOI: 10.21062/mft.2025.057

Surface Morphology and Ablation Efficiency in DUV Ultrafast Laser Micromachining of Fused Silica

Jan Novotný ORCID...1,2, Libor Mrňa ORCID...2, Josef Sedlák ORCID...1, ©těpán Kolomý ORCID...1
Institute of Manufacturing Technology, FME, Brno University of Technology; Technická 2896/2, 61669 Brno, Czech Republic
Institute of Scientific Instruments, Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 147, 612 64 Brno, Czech Republic

Fused silica is a key material for high-precision applications such as micro-optics and microfluidics. One route to improving direct laser writing (DLW) of fused silica is the use of shorter laser wavelengths, which enable tighter focusing and enhanced absorption. In this study, the influence of process parameters on surface quality and material removal during DLW using a deep ultraviolet (DUV) ultrafast laser (257 nm, 1 ps) was investigated. A full-factorial design of the experiment was used to identify conditions that optimise both surface quality and ablation efficiency. Surface roughness as low as Sa ≈ 200 nm and material removal rates up to 0.048 mm³∙min-1 were achieved. Conditions that led to surface degradation were also identified. Finally, the optimised parameters were applied to fabricate a microfluidic demonstrator. These results confirm that DUV ultrafast DLW is a powerful technique for fabricating high-fidelity features in fused silica with exceptional precision and quality that can be used for micro-optics or microfluidics devices.

Keywords: Ultrafast, Laser, Fused silica, Micro-processing, Microfluidic
Grants and funding:

This work was co-funded by the European Union and the state budget of the Czech Republic under the project LasApp CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004573. The institutional support RVO:68081731 is gratefully acknowledged
This contribution was created within the framework of project TN02000020 entitled Center of Advanced Electron and Photon Optics and is co-financed with the state support of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic within the Program for the Support of Applied Research, Experimental Development and Innovation of the National Center of Competence
This research study was supported by the grant “Comprehensive technology for interdisciplinary work with advanced materials, emphasizing their multidisciplinary applications.”, FSI-S-25-8787

Received: July 22, 2025; Revised: September 22, 2025; Accepted: October 13, 2025; Prepublished online: November 6, 2025; Published: November 11, 2025  Show citation

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Novotný J, Mrňa L, Sedlák J, Kolomý ©. Surface Morphology and Ablation Efficiency in DUV Ultrafast Laser Micromachining of Fused Silica. Manufacturing Technology. 2025;25(4):521-530. doi: 10.21062/mft.2025.057.
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