A method for repairing transparent defects in photomasks has been developed. We discuss the experimental development and integration of the process into a commercial repair system. The defect repair process makes use of a laser to initiate thermal decomposition of a modified commercially available gold metallorganic ink.The ink is locally decomposed with a laser over the defect thereby forming an adherent opaque gold repair pad over the defect. Rectangular repair pads from lum to 25um on a side can be deposited with a single laser exposure of 5 seconds.

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Development of low-loss glass-fiber optical waveguides has intensified research in the area of fiber drawing techniques. Many of these fibers are made from fused silica with suitable dopants in the core and clad region, requiring a drawing temperature of over 1900°C. As compared with a furnace or a gas torch, CO2 lasers offer an excellent alternative highly responsive heat source. However, since the output of a laser is a collimated beam, it is necessary to restructure it to provide uniform distribution around the preform circumference.