Laser electrospray printing of nanoparticles on flexible and rigid substrates

Abstract

Semiconductor and metal nanoparticles are known to possess excellent mechanical, electrical, and optical properties, but harnessing those novel properties for practical applications is impeded by the difficulty in depositing the nanoparticles into large two-dimensional thin films or three-dimensional structures. A new laser-assisted manufacturing process is developed for patterning and sintering nanoparticles to deposit semiconductor and conductor thin films. This technique has the ability to deposit various materials on rigid and flexible substrates such as paper and plastics for manufacturing flexible electronics.