Abstract

The laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) of thin films is a versatile technique to deposit materials on a size scale that can span nanometres to millimetres. During LIFT, the energy of a laser pulse is absorbed in a small volume of a thin film to be transferred (donor) or in an auxiliary layer (dynamic release layer) causing an explosive expansion which is used to propel a portion of the donor away from the transparent carrier substrate and transfer it as a deposit onto a receiver substrate as shown in Fig. 1(a). Ultrashort laser pulses, as used here, can limit laser damage that is usually present using longer pulses, e.g. nanosecond pulses, to remaining areas of the donor.

© 2015 IEEE