High temperature applications of printed circuit boards (PCB) require materials with specifically adapted properties. Hence, conventional electrically isolating glass fiber and epoxy-resin materials have to be replaced by thin borosilicate glass. Therefore, an industrially suitable process to remove the metal coatings from the brittle thin glass has to be developed. Laser processing has the advantage of individualization for the production of customer-specific PCBs. Thus, laser ablation of metal coatings for electrical isolation is investigated with different material composites based on thin glass. The study aims to identify a laser process for a picosecond laser source with 515 nm wavelength to perform the process without damaging the glass substrate with a high throughput

Overmeyer, Ludger

Plat, K.

Suttmann, O.

Witzendorff, P.V.

Institutionelles Repositorium der Leibniz Universität Hannover

Laser processing of thin glass printed circuit boards with a picosecond laser at 515 nm wavelength

AbstractHigh temperature applications of printed circuit boards (PCB)require materials with specifically adapted properties. Hence, conventional electrically isolating glass fiber and epoxy-resin materials have to be replaced by thin borosilicate glass.Therefore, an industrially suitable process to remove the metal coatings from the brittle thin glass has to be developed. Laser processing has the advantage of individualization for the production of customer-specific PCBs. Thus, laser ablation of metal coatings for electrical isolation is investigated with different material composites based on thin glass.The study aims to identify a laser process for a picosecond laser source with 515nm wavelength to perform the process without damaging the glass substrate with a high throughput

Witzendorff, P.v.

Overmeyer, L.

Elsevier - Publisher Connector 

 Physics Procedia  56 ( 2014 )  983 – 990 
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
1875-3892 © 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license 
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Bayerisches Laserzentrum GmbH
doi: 10.1016/j.phpro.2014.08.009 
ScienceDirect
8th International Conference on Photonic Technologies LANE 2014 
Laser processing of thin glass printed circuit boards with a 
picosecond laser at 515 nm wavelength 
K. Plata,*, P. v. Witzendorffa, O. Suttmanna, L. Overmeyera 
aLaser Zentrum Hannover e. V., Hollerithallee 8, D-30419 Hannover, Germnany 
Abstract 
High temperature applications of printed circuit boards (PCB) require materials with specifically adapted properties. 
Hence, conventional electrically isolating glass fiber and epoxy-resin materials have to be replaced by thin 
borosilicate glass. Therefore, an industrially suitable process to remove the metal coatings from the brittle thin glass 
has to be developed. Laser processing has the advantage of individualization for the production of customer-specific 
PCBs. Thus, laser ablation of metal coatings for electrical isolation is investigated with different material 
composites based on thin glass. The study aims to identify a laser process for a picosecond laser source with 515 nm 
wavelength to perform the process without damaging the glass substrate with a high throughput. 
 
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. 
Selection and blind-review under responsibility of the Bayerisches Laserzentrum GmbH. 
Keywords: thin glass printed circuit board; ablation 
1. Introduction 
Polymers are often used as an electrically isolating base material for printed circuit boards. However, 
miniaturization and high temperature applications restrict the use of printed circuit boards (PCB) made of epoxy-
resin, glass-fiber fabrics (FR 4) and polyamides. High temperatures often cause deformation or decomposition of the 
plastic materials. There is subsequently a risk of cracks or breakage in the dielectrical layer due to the thermal 
 
 
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +49-511-2788-284 ; fax: +49-511-2788-100 . 
E-mail address: k.plat@lzh.de 
 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license 
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Bayerisches Laserzentrum GmbH
984   K. Plat et al. /  Physics Procedia  56 ( 2014 )  983 – 990 
expansion characteristics of the materials. This can, for example, lead to pad cratering, i.e. the formation of craters 
on the surface of the PCB [1]. For high temperature applications above 250 °C, thin glass could be a suitable 
substitute for the conventional polymers used as a basis material for the circuit boards. Glass has also a high 
chemical stability and a low thermal expansion coefficient of 7.2 · 10-6 K-1. The field of aerospace technology has 
interesting applications for these new, thin glass circuit boards. Within this paper the structuring process was 
investigated for metal coatings on thin glass from 145 μm to 500 μm thicknesses. To avoid thermal induced damage 
of the thin glass substrate, laser beam sources with pulse durations of several picoseconds are used to perform the 
structuring. Ablation with these pulse durations has been proved to enable precise ablation on thermal sensitive 
materials [2-5]. In reference [6] the laser ablation of different metals is described with different picosecond laser. In 
this publication, the copper ablation depth per pulse is in the range from 30 nm (0.765 J/cm² fluence per pulse) to 
280 nm (15.3 J/cm² fluence per pulse).  
The aim of this investigation is to find appropriate laser parameters to remove the copper and chrome coating 
from the thin glass to produce the electrical circuit without damaging the substrate material. A completely removed 
area is electrically isolated and optical transparent. 
 
2. Experimental setup 
2.1. Setup for the laser processing  
 The picosecond laser (Trumpf, TruMicro 5050) with a maximal average output power of 22 W at the wavelength 
of 515 nm using an external frequency conversion was used for the experiments. In Table 1 an overview of the 
experimental laser parameters is presented. The laser beam focus diameter has a Gaussian shaped profile in TEM00 
mode.  
            Table 1. Overview laser parameter. 
Laser source  TruMicro 5050 (Trumpf) 
wavelength (nm) 515  fluence (J/cm²) 7 - 27 
pulse duration (ps) 7 pulse overlap (%) 25, 35, 45, 50 
focal length 
beam focus diameter 
(mm) 
(μm) 
100, 255 
10, 20  
repetition rate (kHz) 
scan cycle 
10, 50, 100 
1 - 55 
 
 
The pulse overlap describes the spatial overlap along the scan vector of two temporally successive laser pulses. In 
Table 2 the scan velocities for different repetition rates and pulse overlaps is presented for a spot diameter of 20 μm. 
Compared to a repetition rate of 10 kHz, the scan velocity is increased by the factor five at 50 kHz and by the factor 
10 at 100 kHz.  
      Table 2. Overview scan velocities dspot = 20 μm. 
Laser parameters fRR = 10 kHz fRR = 50 kHz fRR = 100 kHz 
Pulse overlap (%)  v (mm/s) v (mm/s) v (mm/s) 
25 150 750 1500 
35 
45 
50 
130 
110 
100 
650 
550 
500 
1300 
1100 
1000 
 
 
 
 K. Plat et al. /  Physics Procedia  56 ( 2014 )  983 – 990 985
a) b) c) 
 
 
 
 
  
  
Fig. 1. a) Laser pulse overlaps b) Sputtered material c) Galvanized material. 
 
The ablation process was performed on metal coated thin glass substrates. For the deposition of chrome and the 
copper-layer on the thin glass a de-sputtering process in vacuum chamber was used. A higher thickness of the 
electrically conducting material is necessary for a higher current flow of a printed circuit board. The growth of the 
film is usually realized by galvanization. 
The first investigate material (Fig. 1 b) is thin glass (145 μm) sputtered with a chrome intermediate layer (50 nm) 
and a copper layer (approximately 1 μm) on top, is then laser processed and finally galvanized to increase the 
thickness which is necessary to achieve adequate electrical conductivity. The second material (Fig. 1 c) is a thin 
glass substrate (500 μm) coated with chrome layer (20 nm) by sputtering and then coated with a copper layer 
(10 μm) by a galvanizing process.  
The average roughness Ra of non-irradiated metal sputtered substrate materials is 0.017 μm and the average 
roughness of galvanized material is 0.396 μm. The coating processes lead to different average surface roughness. 
The sputtered coatings have a smother surface than the galvanized coatings.  
The coated thin glass has been mounted on a frame during the laser process, to avoid absorption from the sample 
holder when the metal coating is removed. The laser beam was focused by a f-theta optics onto the copper surface. 
Within the experiments the pulse overlap, the repetition rate and the fluence was varied as stated in Table 1. 
3. Results and discussion 
To implement the laser ablation processes of metal coatings from thin glass for the production of printed circuit 
boards, the following criteria have to be considered. The thickness of the metal coating depends on the different 
coating processes, like sputtering or galvanization. The ablation depth (ad in μm) describes the removal of the 
coating. A complete removal of the coating without damaging the substrate material is equivalent to the thickness of 
the coating. The average roughness (Ra in μm) is a criterion for the quality of the ablation. A low value of the 
roughness implies a homogenous removal of the coating. The average roughness has been measured by the laser 
confocal microscope. The laser irradiation influences also the remaining material at the edges. For a precise ablation 
this heat affected zone (haz in μm) should be at a low value. 
 
Fig. 2 shows the results of the laser ablation process of sputtered material. The coated thin glass was laser 
irradiated by a single line scan. The focal spot diameter was 10 μm throughout the experiments on sputtered 
samples. With increasing laser fluence the copper and the chrome layer were removed. A complete ablation of this 
sputtered material is achieved at a laser fluence of 17.2 J/cm² with a single line scan. Complete removal has been 
verified by measuring the ablation depth with a confocal laser scanning microscope, Fig. 3. The ablation depth of 
the irradiated line is 1.205 ± 0.026 μm with an average roughness of 0.049 μm within the irradiated area. The low 
average roughness indicates that the glass substrate remained in undamaged condition after laser processing. 
Damage of the glass substrate at higher fluencies can be seen in Fig. 2 c) at the dark spots on the irradiated line. For 
986   K. Plat et al. /  Physics Procedia  56 ( 2014 )  983 – 990 
these parameter-set, the ablation depth is 1.482 ± 0.020 μm with an average roughness of 0.106 μm. But this higher 
average roughness of the ablated area indicates a prior damage of the glass substrate. The material reliability 
decreases and can lead to a break of printed circuits board. 
 
a)  b)  c)  
   
H = 6.7 J/cm² 
ad = 0.847 ± 0.024 μm 
w = 11.984 ± 0.319 μm 
 
Ra = 0.048 μm 
Incomplete removal 
H = 17. 2 J/cm² 
ad = 1.205 ± 0.026 μm 
w = 7.455 ± 0.164 μm 
haz = 24.440 ± 0.106 μm 
Ra = 0.049 μm  
Complete removal 
H = 26.9 J/cm² 
ad = 1.482 ± 0.020 μm 
w = 10.914 ± 0.140 μm 
haz = 30.056 ± 0.189 μm 
Ra = 0.106 μm 
Complete removal with substrate damage 
Fig. 2. Confocal microscope images of laser ablation of sputtered material, vscan = 500 mm/s, fRR = 100 kHz, Ov = 50 %, dspot = 10 μm, different 
fluencies. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 3. Laser ablation of sputtered material, 3D-figures of laser confocal microscope of Fig. 2 b) vscan = 500 mm/s, fRR = 100 kHz, Ov = 50 %, 
dspot = 10 μm, H = 17.2 J/cm², ad = 1.205 ± 0.026 μm. 
For the process study with galvanized material, the laser beam was scanned by a galvanometric system over the 
copper area of 3 mm x 3 mm. The focal spot diameter was 20 μm. The area was irradiated by parallel line scans 
where the line overlap is equal to the pulse overlap. 10 J/cm² has been chosen as laser fluence. The ablation depth of 
the copper and chrome coating have been studied as a function of the repetition rate (fRR in kHz) and the pulse 
overlap (Ov in %) and show the ablation depth of the copper and chrome layer on the thin glass with a thickness of 
500 μm. The surface is modified by ablation depending on the laser parameters. With an increasing number of scan 
cycles, the depth of material removal increases. The result of the ablation process with the picosecond laser can be 
devided into the same three regimes as for the removal of the sputtered films:  
 
 
 K. Plat et al. /  Physics Procedia  56 ( 2014 )  983 – 990 987
x 1: Incomplete removal 
x 2: Complete removal 
x 3: Complete removal with substrate damage 
 
Fig. 4 depicts the images captured by the confocal microscope. The laser fluence was constant at 10 J/cm² and the 
repetition rate was 50 kHz. To demonstrate the incomplete, the complete, and the complete removal with damage, 
the pulse overlap from 25 % to 50 % versus the number of laser scan cycles is presented. For each ablated area, with 
different laser process parameters the ablation depth (ad) as the difference between the laser-irradiated area and the 
non-irradiated area has been measured. For the removal of metal coatings with a thickness of 10 μm a higher 
number of laser scan cycles is necessary in contrast to the thin coating of 1 μm. The first laser scan induces an 
ablation depth ad of copper and chrome in a range of 0.2 and 0.5 μm, depending on the pulse overlap. With the 
increase of 10 laser scan cycles the ablation depth is between 4.1 and 7.7 μm, Fig. 4 a) –c). This removal is also 
incomplete. A complete removal of the coatings is reached with at least 25 laser scan cycles, Fig. 4 d).  
 
Scan 
cycles 
Ov = 25 %  
vscan = 750 mm/s 
Ov = 35 %  
vscan = 650 mm/s 
Ov = 50 %  
vscan = 500 mm/s 
 a) b) c) 
10x 
 
 ad = 4.106 ± 0.001 μm 
incomplete removal 
ad = 5.183 ± 0.001  
incomplete removal 
ad = 7.686 ± 0.236 μm  
incomplete removal 
 d) e) f) 
25x 
 
  ad = 10.878 ± 0.000 μm 
complete removal 
ad = 11.978 ± 0.003 μm 
complete removal 
ad = 39.307 ± 0.254 μm 
complete removal with damage 
 j) k) l) 
40x 
 
 ad = 12.12 ± 0.215 μm 
complete removal  
ad = 24.407 ± 0.117 μm 
complete removal with damage 
ad = 69.89 ± 0.257 μm  
complete removal with damage 
 
Fig. 4. Laser ablation of galvanized material, 3D-figures of laser confocal microscope, H = 10 J/cm², fRR = 50 kHz, number of scan cycles versus 
pulse overlap, dspot = 20 μm. 
988   K. Plat et al. /  Physics Procedia  56 ( 2014 )  983 – 990 
In accordance to the additional chrome layer of 20 nm, the single pulse ablation depth is approximately 288 nm at 
fluence per pulse of 10 J/cm² which is in agreement with reference 6. The pulse overlap influences the quality of the 
removal; generally, with an overlap of 25 % the ablated area appears inhomogeneous. 
Fig. 4 f), k), l) and m) show results where the removal is complete but the thin glass substrate is damaged. 
 
The red copper front side of galvanized material after laser processing is presented in Fig. 5. Areas of 
3 mm x 3 mm have been laser irradiated with different laser scan cycles and pulse overlaps at a constant laser 
fluence of 10 J/cm². With a single laser scan cycle the two layers chrome (20 nm) and copper (10 μm) can not be 
completely removed. From 25 laser scan cycles, the coating can be removed and the transparent glass is visible. At 
least 25 scan irradiation cycles are necessary for the complete removal. 
 
 
Scan cycle: 1x 25x 40x 
Overlap (%)  25, 35, 45, 50 25, 35, 45, 50 25, 35, 45, 50 
   
Fig. 5. Images after laser process from the front side of galvanized material, H = 10 J/cm², fRR = 50 kHz, different scan cycles and pulse overlaps. 
Fig. 6 summarizes the results. Ablation depth (ad in μm) versus overlap (Ov in %) is plotted in the diagram for 
the four different overlaps (25 %, 35 %, 45 %, 50 %). The dotted line marks the thickness of the coatings on the thin 
glass substrate. To achieve the desired ablation depth of 10 μm, a pulse overlap of 25 – 35 % with 25 scan cycles 
should be used.  
 
Fig. 6. Laser ablation of galvanized material, H = 10 J/cm², fRR = 50 kHz, different scan cycles and pulse overlaps. 
  
3 mm 
 K. Plat et al. /  Physics Procedia  56 ( 2014 )  983 – 990 989
With the ablation study of metallic layers from thin glass, a printed circuit board layout was created as 
demonstrator, Fig. 7. 
 
 
 
Fig. 7. Laser structured metal coated thin glass.  
4. Conclusion and Outlook 
New materials for printed circuit boards (PCB) based on thin glass with chrome and copper layers have been 
successfully processed with a picosecond laser for the patterning of electrical circuits. A complete removal of 
metallic layers from the thin glass is necessary to create costumer-specific printed circuit boards. Therefore, the 
ablation behavior of different metal film thickness has been analyzed by laser confocal microscope. The quality and 
the depth depend of the laser ablation fluence and the number of repeated laser scan cycles. The laser fluence and 
the pulse overlap have to be adjusted to achieve an adequate material removal without damaging the glass substrate.  
Both investigated materials, sputtered and galvanized, show three different regimes of incomplete removal, 
complete removal and complete removal with substrate damage. Sputtered materials with thin metal coatings (1 μm) 
can be electrically isolated with a single laser scan cycle however galvanized materials with thicker metal coatings 
(10 μm) require multiple laser scan cycles. 
The lower coating thickness of the sputtered material results in a decrease of the laser processing time for the 
removal. This includes an increase of the throughput with a factor of approximately 25 for printed circuit boards. 
Therefore, sputtered thin glass substrate should be laser structured, so that isolated areas have been generated and 
then finally galvanized in order to apply laser patterning in a cost efficient way. Future examinations will focus on 
the generation of multilayer thin glass boards, so that the effect could be scaled for this production.  
Acknowledgements 
The project “Glass PCB – Development of a Multilayer Circuit Board Based on Thin Glass” has been funded by 
the Central Innovation Program SME (ZIM) of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi). 
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Laser Assisted Net Shape Engineering 5, 1157-1166 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Laser Processing of Thin Glass Printed Circuit Boards with a Picosecond Laser at 515nm Wavelength 

K. Plat

P.v. Witzendorff

O. Suttmann

L. Overmeyer

Crossref

Physics Procedia

Laser Processing of Thin Glass Printed Circuit Boards with a Picosecond Laser at 515nm Wavelength

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Laser processing of thin glass printed circuit boards with a picosecond laser at 515 nm wavelength

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