Direct printing of micro/nanostructures by femtosecond laser excitation of nanocrystals

Abstract

Direct writing using single or multiple energized beams (e.g. laser, ion or electron beams) provides high feature resolution (<1μm) compared with other solution-based printing methods (e.g. inkjet printing). There have been extensive researches on micro/nano additive manufacturing methods employing laser (or optical) and ion/electron beams. Many of these processes utilize specially designed photosensitive materials consisting of additives and effective components. Due to the presence of additive (such as polymer and binders), the effective components are relatively low resulting in high threshold for device operation. In order to direct print functional devices at low cost, there has been extensive research on laser processing of pre-synthesized nanomaterials for non-polymer functional device manufacturing. Pre-synthesized nanocrystals can have better control in the stoichiometry and crystallinity. In addition, pre-synthesis process enjoys the flexibility in material choice since a variety of materials can be synthesized. Femtosecond laser assembly and deposition of nanomaterials can be a feasible 3D micro/nano additive manufacturing approach, although mechanisms leading to assembly and deposition have not been fully understood. In this paper, we propose a mechanism for 2D and 3D deposition of nanocrystals by laser excitation with moderate peak intensities(1011-1012 W/cm2). It is postulated that laser induced charging is responsible for the deposition. The scheme paves the way for laser selective electrophoretic deposition as a micro/nanoscale additive manufacturing approach.