As drug delivery devices have become smaller and more sophisticated, laser micromachining, particularly laser drilling, is essential. In particular, pharmaceutical drug delivery relies on the fabrication of an array of micron-size, repeatable holes with programmable taper and hole profile in polymer films.

Pulmonary oral drug delivery devices or transdermal patches can benefit from arrays of micro-holes because the laser-drilled polymer films can be more cost effective than using holed inserts or EDM-drilled metal foils. Laser-drilled membranes are superior to woven fabric, Nitinol meshes or high-voltage etched membranes for several reasons:

• The hole diameter is more consistent
• The pitch is more consistent (and hence uniform hole density)
• Plastic material may be  preferred over metal  due to larger aspect ratio, reduced tooling costs or biocompability (i.e., metallic ions)
• The unit cost is typically lower