Sub-surface channels in sapphire made by ultraviolet picosecond laser irradiation and selective etching

We demonstrate the realization of sub-surface channels in sapphire prepared by ultraviolet picosecond laser irradiation and subsequent selective wet etching. By optimizing the pulse energy and the separation between individual laser pulses, an optimization of channel length can be achieved with an aspect ratio as high as 3200. Due to strong variation in channel length, further investigation was done to improve the reproducibility. By multiple irradiations the standard deviation of the channel length could be reduced to 2.2%. The achieved channel length together with the high reproducibility and the use of a commercial picosecond laser system makes the process attractive for industrial application.