Continuous Nanoparticle Assembly by a Modulated Photo-Induced Microbubble for Fabrication of Micrometric Conductive Patterns

Abstract

The laser-induced microbubble technique (LIMBT) has recently been developed for micro-patterning of various materials. In this method, a laser beam is focused on a dispersion of nanoparticles leading to the formation of a microbubble due to laser heating. Convection currents around the microbubble carry nanoparticles so that they become pinned to the bubble/substrate interface. The major limitation of this technique is that for most materials, a noncontinuous deposition is formed. We show that continuous patterns can be formed by preventing the microbubble from being pinned to the deposited material. This is done by modulating the laser so that the construction and destruction of the microbubble are controlled. When the method is applied to a dispersion of Ag nanoparticles, continuous electrically conductive lines are formed. Furthermore, the line width is narrower than that achieved by the standard nonmodulated LIMBT. This approach can be applied to the direct-write fabrication of micron-size conductive patterns in electronic devices without the use of photolithography.

Laser‐Induced Colloidal Writing of Organometallic Precursor–Based Repeatable and Fast Pd–Ni Hydrogen Sensor

“…Then, a micro droplet (10 µL) of the colloidal dispersion is placed on the electrodes. We use modulated‐LIMBT in order to bridge the gap between the gold electrodes with the Pd 0.9 Ni 0.1 NPs. The laser beam is focused at the liquid/substrate interface.…”

“…This method is referred to as the laser induced microbubble technique (LIMBT). Lately, Armon et al have shown that modulation of the laser significantly improves the control over the microbubble and the pinning of materials, and could be used for formation of continuous conductive micropatterns. Here we show for the first time how modulated‐LIMBT is used to micropattern NPs for fabrication of hydrogen sensors.…”

High‐Rate Printing of Micro/Nanoscale Patterns Using Interfacial Convective Assembly

“…In addition, photothermally directed assembly has a limited resolution of micro or sub‐micro scale. [ 43,44 ] Therefore, the development of a broadly applicable, highly scalable, high throughput, and high resolution printing technique is highly desirable.…”

Controlled Shape and Porosity of Polymeric Colloids by Photo-Induced Phase Separation

“…Control over the shape and porosity of polymeric colloids is a major goal [1], as these two properties have powerful influence over the packing of the colloids [2], deposition upon solvent evaporation [3], and emulsion stabilization [4]. Anisotropic particles can be used for biomedical applications [5,6,7], and the assembly of colloids to colloidal microstructures [8,9,10,11] could be useful for the formation of new functional materials [12]. These particles serve as building blocks for creating complex colloidal structures [13], cubic crystals [14], and staggered linear chains [15].…”