Microcolumn assembly

Citation

(2002), "Microcolumn assembly", Industrial Robot, Vol. 29 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2002.04929bad.012

Microcolumn assembly

Applicant: Etec Systems, Inc., Hayward, USAPatent number: US6,195,214Publication date: 27 February 2001Title: Microcolumn Assembly Using Laser Spot Welding

This patent describes a method for forming microcolumns in which laser spot welding bonds the multiple layers of an electron beam microcolumn. A silicon micro-lens is laser spot welded to a glass insulation layer by focusing a laser through the insulation layer onto the silicon micro-lens. The glass layer is transparent to the laser, allowing all of the energy to be absorbed by the silicon. This causes the silicon to heat, which, in turn, heats the adjacent surface of the glass insulation layer creating a micro-weld between the silicon and glass. The insulation layer includes a portion which protrudes beyond the edge of the first micro-lens so that when a second micro-lens is attached to the opposite side of the insulation layer, the second micro-lens can be laser spot welded to the protruding portion of the insulation layer by focusing a laser through the protruding portion of the insulation layer to heat the second micro-lens.