Laser-Based Chip Propulsion

Abstract

Within the microchip handling sector, highly accurate systems are a fundamental part. As microchips continue to shrink and production speeds increase, the traditional vacuum-based pick-and-place systems face scaling limitations due to nozzle size constraints and clogging risks. An alternative to this involves using water droplets to handle microchips through capillary forces. As these forces become dominant at the microscale, chips can be picked up and handled whilst working at a smaller scale. Furthermore, when irradiated by a laser source, the water has the potential to propel this microchip, generating the possibility of increased handling speeds. The study examines on developing a method for this propulsion system, where research has been done on concepts to transfer laser energy into a propelling force, transferring the chip onto a receiving substrate. After a cohesive parameter analysis using simulative and experimental results, a method was found to utilize a copper substrate as a heat absorbing layer, absorbing enough laser energy to explosively evaporate the water layer that the chip is attached to, ultimately propelling the chip. The results can be used as a starting point for developing and implementing a water droplet-based microchip transfer system.