|
Laser Direct Writing (including Laser Induced Transfer, Laser Sintering and Laser Patterning) of functional materials has emerged as a reliable, high resolution and versatile fabrication tool for flexible electronics, sensors and optoelectronic components. In this paper we highlight the newest trends of Laser Direct Write manufacturing for the development of a variety of components with electronic, optoelectronic and sensing functionality such RFID antennas and RF transmission lines, biometric and chemical sensors and OTFTs.
Moreover, this work reviews the latest developments and the background of Laser Induced Forward Transfer as a 3D additive manufacturing approach for functional devices with applications in organic electronics and in biotechnology. Current technological trends require the precise deposition of highly resolved features, in a direct writing approach which preserve their structural and electronic properties upon transfer, while increasing the number of components that can be integrated in a single device. Laser Induced Forward Transfer meets these requirements. Examples of selected applications, including organic thin-film transistors, metallic interconnects, circuits defects repairing, chemical sensors and biosensors will be presented, highlighting the potential incorporation of lasers into the direct printing of entire devices and components.
Moreover, the content of this work extends to the application of Laser printing for the direct transfer of metal nanoparticles on polymeric substrates for the development of plasmonic resonators. It has been shown that the size of the transferred droplets is directly related to the volume of laser-molten material region and can be controlled by the laser beam spot size and film thickness. Controllable transfer of different size droplets was thus demonstrated. The printed NPs have diameters from 150-500 nm, high surface ordering and reproducibility. In metallic or dielectric structures, the nanoparticles in the array act as resonators for the electromagnetic (EM) field, and the interactions between them generate a very rich optical response. In this work, the selective transfer by Laser Induced Backward Transfer and partial embedding of Au nanospheres on PDMS substrates has been demonstrated. The targeted application is the fabrication of a stretchable monochromatic reflector with tunable optical response based on the plasmonic resonance of Au nanospheres ordered in a square lattice. Tensile stress applied on the PDMS will induce pitch size increase and corresponding shift of the resonance.
|
