Laser Micromirror Recording for High-Speed Data Ablation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for high-speed data recording on material layers, such as ceramics, are limited by the high power density required for ablating materials, which compromises recording velocity due to the constraints of laser power scaling and the indirect nature of photolithography processes.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a combination of a galvanometer scanner and a digital micromirror device to distribute laser power, allowing for sequential illumination of sub-arrays of micromirrors, reducing total laser power requirements and achieving high-speed data recording by selectively manipulating material regions with laser light, including heating, decomposing, or ablating, to create well-defined local effects for data encoding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If photolithography is used to manipulate material layers, then the process is chemically effective and well-established, but the recording speed is limited due to indirect manipulation and photoresist processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the photoresist intermediate layer from the process, enabling direct laser manipulation of the substrate material. This eliminates the indirect chemical manipulation step and allows direct physical modification of the material layer, thereby increasing recording speed while maintaining process effectiveness through direct material interaction
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a digital micromirror device as an intermediary between the laser source and the material layer. This intermediary enables precise spatial control of laser beams, allowing multiple regions to be addressed simultaneously or sequentially, thus overcoming the speed limitation of traditional point-by-point scanning while maintaining direct material manipulation
2Productivity
If laser power is increased to achieve high-speed direct material manipulation, then recording velocity improves, but the total laser power required becomes excessively high and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the material layer into multiple discrete regions that can be independently addressed by individual laser beams generated by digital micromirrors. This segmentation allows parallel processing of multiple regions simultaneously, achieving high recording velocity without requiring excessive total laser power, as the power is distributed across multiple lower-power beamlets
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a digitally controllable micromirror device that can dynamically and rapidly reconfigure which regions receive laser illumination. This dynamic control enables flexible allocation of laser power to different regions as needed, optimizing recording velocity while maintaining cost-effective power levels through adaptive power distribution rather than uniformly high power across all regions
3Power
If a sub-array of micromirrors is illuminated sequentially by a galvanometer scanner, then total laser power requirements are reduced, but the system complexity increases due to coordination between scanner and micromirror addressing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements coordinated control between the galvanometer scanner and digital micromirror device through synchronized addressing signals. The system uses feedback coordination where the scanner position information is used to determine which micromirrors should be active, creating a coordinated operation mode that manages system complexity through structured signal synchronization and position-based addressing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic scanning motion of the galvanometer scanner that systematically illuminates different sub-arrays of micromirrors in a repeating sequence. This periodic action creates a predictable, rhythmic operation pattern that simplifies control logic and timing coordination, making the system management more straightforward compared to arbitrary or aperiodic scanning patterns
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 data recording speeds of at least 10 MB/s, preferably 100 MB/s, and up to 10 GB/s using standard laser sources, while maintaining precision and allowing for deeper recess creation with Bessel beams, enhancing data density and storage durability.
Implementation Method 1
selectively illuminating a plurality of regions of the layer of the first material with laser light in order to selectively manipulate material at the plurality of regions
Implementation Method 2
ablating material from a ceramic layer
Implementation Method 3
decomposing, oxidizing, deforming, ablating, melting and/or vaporizing the respective regions
Implementation Method 4
a galvanometer scanner and a digital micromirror device (DMD) adapted to emit multiple laser beams, wherein the galvanometer scanner is configured to temporally distribute the laser power of the laser source over the DMD
Implementation Method 5
digital micromirror device (DMD) adapted to emit multiple laser beams
Implementation Method 6
allowing for deeper recess creation with Bessel beams, enhancing data density and storage durability
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method of high-speed recording and reading data on or in a layer (10) of a first material and to a device for high-speed recording and reading data on or in a layer (10) of a first material using a laser source (19, a galvanometer (4) and a digital micromirror (5) adapted to emit multiple laser beams.