Laser used to create tunnels in silicon
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028272
MIT Technology Review : Researchers have developed a way to carve networks of pipes and tunnels through the interior of a slab of silicon. Onur Tokel of Bilkent University in Turkey and colleagues focus an IR laser beam deep inside the slab, which melts the material and creates a void. By scanning the beam through the material, the researchers have been able to create various patterns, including grids, spirals, and parallel lines. Such silicon structures could prove useful for storing information or for carrying light in optoelectronic systems or liquids in microfluidic systems. However, more research is needed to better understand how the laser’s energy is transferred to the silicon and predict what the effects will be.
