FemtoFac: Femtosecond pulse laser Facility for micro & nanoscale research. (I001120N FemtoFac)

This project is about acquiring a state-of-the-art femtosecond pulse laser micromachining platform and developing research activities using this novel micro and nano fabrication tool. With its ultrashort pulse width and extremely high peak intensity, a femtosecond laser can produce high quality small features with micrometer resolution as well as nano-features. Furthermore, it can do so with very limited thermal damage and material redeposition. The tool is universal as it can process almost any material, including transparent and semi-transparent materials. The system will feature a galvanoscanner synchronized with a 5-axis micromachining platform to allow 3D surface treatment and the fabrication of intricate 3D microcomponents. The system will have a major impact on the capabilities of a wide range of labs at KU Leuven. The different fields of application already identified within the consortium include among others: lab-on-a-chip for massively parallel single cell assays, ‘smart’ surfaces that are for example selfcleaning, patterning of advanced thin films, microfluidics, precision mechanics, medical robotics, medical implants, antenna and PCB fabrication for THz communication, and fundamental research on ultrafast laser-material interaction.