Fabricating electronic devices from natural, renewable resources is a common goal in engineering and materials science. In this regard, carbon is of special significance due to its biocompatibility combined with electrical conductivity and electrochemical stability. In microelectronics, however, carbon's device application is often inhibited by tedious and expensive preparation processes and a lack of control over processing and material parameters. Laser‐assisted carbonization is emerging as a tool for the precise and selective synthesis of functional carbon‐based materials for flexible device applications. In contrast to conventional carbonization via in‐furnace pyrolysis, laser‐carbonization is induced photo‐thermally and occurs on the time‐scale of milliseconds. By careful selection of the precursors and process parameters, the properties of this so‐called laser‐patterned carbon (LP‐C) such as porosity, surface polarity, functional groups, degree of graphitization, charge‐carrier structure, etc. can be tuned. In this critical review, a common perspective is generated on laser‐carbonization in the context of general carbonization strategies, fundamentals of laser‐induced materials processing, and flexible electronic applications, like electrodes for sensors, electrocatalysts, energy storage, or antennas. An attempt is made to have equal emphasis on material processing and application aspects such that this emerging technology can be optimally positioned in the broader context of carbon‐based microfabrication.

Polymer modification plays an important role in the construction of devices, but the lack of fundamental understanding on polymer-surface adhesion limits the development of miniaturized devices. In this work, a thermoplastic polymer collection was established using the combinatorial laser-induced forward transfer technique as a research platform, to assess the adhesion of polymers to substrates of different wettability. Furthermore, it also revealed the influence of adhesion on dewetting phenomena during the laser transfer and relaxation process, resulting in polymer spots of various morphologies. This gives a general insight into polymer-surface adhesion and connects it with the generation of defined polymer microstructures, which can be a valuable reference for the rational use of polymers.