Quartz micromachining using laser plasma soft x raysand ultraviolet laser light

We have investigated a technique for micromachining inorganic transparent materials. In the technique, patterning and coloration are performed by the direct irradiation of materials with pulsed laser soft x rays and the patterned areas are ablated using ultraviolet laser light. The technique utilizes the high precision of the soft x rays and the high energy density of conventional laser light. For demonstration, we irradiated quartz plates with Ta laser plasma soft x rays. This results in generation of transient surface opaque layers that absorb more than 40% of the 266nm Nd:YAG laser light. Applying the technique, quartz plates are found to be ablated smoothly at 85nm∕shots.