Additive Laser or Electron Beam Metal Deposition onto Glasses and Ceramics

Technology Overview: 

The technology provides methods and apparatus for bonding metals onto glass and ceramic substrates, including those composed of oxides, silicides, nitrides, and carbides, carbon materials, borides, arsenides, sulfides. This method enables composites of metals and glasses or ceramics for various applications and uses a focused energy source (e.g., laser or electron beam) to fuse metal powders into a solid part by building on a baseplate that is identical or very similar to the build metal to facilitate wetting. This is to create the strongest bonding to the build plate and minimize coefficient of thermal expansion mismatches. 

Advantages: 

• The invention provides a method for additively bonding these materials to metals which can be employed directly in additive manufacturing. 
• Enables direct manufacture of heat removal devices and/or electrical connections on opto-electronic substrates.
• This method allows integration of conventional composite materials into metal additives and heterogeneous integration of dissimilar materials.
• Easy parting of the desired part from the support structure and/or the build plate.