Surface plasmon resonance assisted rapid laser joining of glass

Rapid and strong joining of clear glass to glass containing randomly distributed embedded spherical silver nanoparticles upon nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation (40 ns and repetition rate of 100 kHz) at 532 nm is demonstrated. The embedded silver nanoparticles were 30–40 nm in diameter, contained in a thin surface layer of -10 µm. A joint strength of 12.5 MPa was achieved for a laser fluence of only 0.13 J/cm² and scanning speed of 10 mm/s. The bonding mechanism is discussed in terms of absorption of the laser energy by nanoparticles and the transfer of the accumulated localised heat to the surrounding glass leading to the local melting and formation of a strong bond. The presented technique is scalable and overcomes a number of serious challenges for a widespread adoption of laser-assisted rapid joining of glass substrates, enabling applications in the manufacture of microelectronic devices, sensors, micro-fluidic, and medical devices.