Laser ablation and structuring

Lasers can ablate very selectively and accurately material from metals, ceramics or polymers. The basic principle of these applications is the ablation of material through short high-energy laser pulses. This process can be controlled to create microstructures smaller than 15 microns as well as the ablation of entire surface layers. For example, it can remove polymer layers in catheter production. The same technique can create tailored surfaces with structures in the micron range to improve the biological interaction of implants, or create filigree tools for plastic microcomponents such as die casting molds with very fine channels.

Easy Opening

Almost all packaging films are multi-layer structures, i. e. they consist of several films, one on top of the other, with a thickness of several 10 µm each. Each layer has a different function: PET is for stiffness and aroma preservation, PE for sealing and tearproofness, PP for vapor impermeability, Aluminum for general
light hermetic sealing and paper for stiffness. Easy opening means selective weakening of the mechanically supporting layer without affecting other functionalities. Mechanical scribing or punching methods are fast and considerably simple, however, they cannot differentiate between the individual layers. The result may be that either the mechanically supporting layer is not completely separated
(scribing depth too low) or the light or humidity hermetic layer is harmed (scribing depth too high). Therefore, for some time research has been going on to find a dependable method which selectively acts on the different layers. Laser structuring with CO2 lasers offers a new solution. This technology benefits from the different optical properties of the single film layers.