Laser Filament Processing for Uniform Ablation Without Polymer Damage
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing laser ablation processes for preparing electrochemical sensors face a trade-off between high production rates and minimizing damage to the polymer layer, leading to non-uniform coating thicknesses and compromised sensor accuracy due to overheating and surface alterations.
Innovation Solution
A process involving multiple processing steps with overlapping segments and simultaneous processing of sections using identical or different processing beams to evenly distribute heat and minimize damage, ensuring uniform surface treatment and high accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sequential laser ablation is used to remove the outer metal layer, then the polymer layer is protected from damage, but the production rate is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The wire surface is divided into multiple segments along the longitudinal direction, with each segment containing multiple sections arranged circumferentially. Different segments are processed in parallel by multiple laser beams, allowing simultaneous material removal while distributing thermal load to prevent polymer layer damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The processing approach transitions from sequential one-dimensional processing to parallel multi-dimensional processing. Multiple laser beams operate simultaneously on different circumferential sections of the wire, creating a two-dimensional parallel processing architecture that increases production rate while maintaining thermal management.
2Productivity
If high process speed is increased to improve production rate, then more wire can be processed, but damages to the polymer layer occur due to overheating
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the wire into multiple sections and processing them in parallel, the total processing time is reduced, limiting heat accumulation. Each laser beam processes a smaller section simultaneously, reducing the thermal load on any single point and preventing polymer layer damage while maintaining high production rate.
Solution Approach 2:
The processing uses pulsed laser beams with controlled duty cycles, applying energy in periodic bursts rather than continuous exposure. This allows brief intervals for heat dissipation between pulses, preventing excessive temperature buildup that would damage the polymer layer while maintaining efficient material removal.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the production of high-accuracy electrochemical sensors at high production rates by maintaining the integrity of the polymer layer, thereby improving signal-to-noise ratio and linearity of sensor responses.
Implementation Method 1
removal of the outer metal layer by high-precision laser ablation is known
Implementation Method 2
processing of each section of each segment of the filament comprises an interaction of the section of the segment of the filament with at least one processing beam
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention refers to a process (100) for preparing a processed filament (410), the process (100) comprising as process steps a) providing a filament (201), which comprises a multitude of segments (204), which follow one another in a longitudinal direction (401) of the filament (201), wherein each of the segments (204) of the multitude of segments (204) comprises a multitude of sections (202, 203), which are disposed circumferentially around the filament (201); and b) processing the filament (201) in n processing steps 103, 104, 701, 702), thereby obtaining the processed filament (410); wherein for each integer i in the range from 1 to n, the ith processing step comprises, for each integer j in the range from 1 to m, processing the jth section of the (i+j-1)th segment; wherein n and m are integers which are, independent from one another, at least 2; wherein sections (202, 203) of different number are at different circumferential locations of the filament (201); wherein the processing of each section (202, 203) of each segment (204) of the filament (201) comprises an interaction of the section (202, 203) of the segment (204) of the filament (201) with at least one processing beam (301). Further, the invention refers to a processed filament (410), obtainable by the process (100); to an electrical device (1600), comprising at least a part of the processed filament (410); to devices (1400) for preparing a processed filament (410); to a use of at least one laser; and to a use of a filament (201) for being processed.