This work was carried out in the framework of the project &#8220;MIRAGE,&#8221; funded by the European Commission within the FP7 program.

1. LIFT-assisted Flip-chip Bonding
NOTE: There are three stages involved in realizing the LIFT-assisted flip-chip assemblies, namely-micro-bumping of the substrates using the LIFT technique, attaching the optoelectronic chips to the bumped substrates using thermo-compression flip-chip bonding method, and finally encapsulation of the bonded assemblies. Each of these stages is discussed in the following sections:
<ol>
	<li>Micro-bumping using LIFT:
	<ol>
		<li>For donor preparation, deposit a thin film of the donor material onto a laser-transparent carrier substrate. For this experiment, evaporate a 200 nm thick film of indium metal on top of glass carrier substrate with dimensions: 2 inch diameter x 0.05 cm thickness. 
		NOTE: Donor preparation method depends on the phase of the donor material, e.g., use evaporation and sputtering for solid phase donor materials and spin-coating and doctor-blading for liquid-phase donors.</li>
		<li>For receiver preparation, use glass substrates with dimensions of 5 x 5 x 0.07 cm3 as the receivers. Pattern these substrates with the metallic contact pads for bonding the OE chip and fan-out probing structures using photolithography. For this experiment, pattern 4 &#181;m thick Ni-Au bond pads and fan-out probing tracks onto glass receiver substrates.</li>
		<li>Next, place the donor in contact with the receiver and mount the donor-receiver assembly onto a computer controlled X-Y translation stage. 
		NOTE: Depending on the phase of the donor material (e.g., solid (indium) or liquid (ink/paste)) and its thickness, the donor and the receiver substrates are placed at an optimum separation that can be easily controlled (e.g., by using metallic spacers).</li>
		<li>Focus the incident laser beam at the carrier-donor interface employing an objective lens of 160 mm focal length and scan the beam (20 &#181;m spot size) across the donor substrate for transferring donor micro-bumps onto the receiver bond-pads. Use a picosecond laser source of 355 nm wavelength and 12 psec pulse duration to LIFT indium bumps onto the receiver bond-pads at a fluence of 270 mJ/cm2. 
		NOTE: The laser properties such as energy, no. of pulses, objective lens height, coordinates of the precise location on the receiver substrate for printing donor micro-bumps and the desired pattern to be transferred are accurately controlled by a computer program. Key experimental parameters (e.g., transfer fluence) need to be optimized in case of using another laser source.</li>
		<li>For thicker bumps move the donor to a fresh area and repeat step 1.1.4 several times. For example, repeat step 1.1.4 six times to get a stack of 6 indium bumps printed on top of each other for this experiment. The final LIFTed bumps have an average height of ~ 1.5 &#181;m and a diameter of 20 &#181;m (Figure 2). 
		NOTE: For these experiments the surface profile and thickness of the bumps were measured using an optical profilometer. It was examined that the bumps had a convex/dome morphology with an average thickness of 1.5 &#181;m, averaged over the bump diameter (as marked yellow in Figure 3). The reason for this is attributed to the fact that the donor melted in the laser irradiated zone and the transferred pellet then re-solidified upon reaching the receiver surface (Indium has a low melting point). The advantage of this is that it results in good adhesion of the printed bump to the VCSEL contact pads.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Chip to substrate thermo-compression bonding (Figures 4-6):
	<ol>
		<li>Use a semiautomatic flip-chip bonder for bonding the optoelectronic chips to the bumped substrates.</li>
		<li>Load the bumped receiver and the chip to be bonded onto their respective vacuum plates of the bonder. Place the chip in a flipped position, i.e., with its active area facing down.</li>
		<li>Use a suitable pick-up tool and align it on the center of the chip. Use a needle-shaped tool as shown in Figure 5. Next, pick the chip using this pick-up tool.</li>
		<li>Align the chip bond-pads with the corresponding contact pads on the receiver substrate using a camera-alignment system.</li>
		<li>Once aligned place the chip on the substrate.</li>
		<li>Apply heat (~ 200 &#176;C) and pressure (12.5 gf/bump) simultaneously to realize chip to substrate electrical and mechanical interconnections.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Encapsulation of the bonded assemblies (Figures 4-6):
	<ol>
		<li>Dispense an optically transparent adhesive around the edges of the bonded assembly using a syringe needle. The encapsulation increases the mechanical reliability of the bonded assemblies. Use a single component UV curable adhesive such as NOA 86 for encapsulating the bonded chips.</li>
		<li>Cure the adhesive using a UV lamp for ~ 30 sec.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
2. Characterization of the Bonded Vertical-cavity Surface-emitting Lasers (VCSELs)
NOTE: After fabrication the next step is to evaluate the electro-optical performance of the bonded assemblies. The light-current-voltage (LIV) curves of the devices are recorded post-bonding using a probe station. The following steps are involved for the testing:
<ol>
	<li>Place the flip-chip bonded device onto a custom-made transparent stage. The stage has a hole drilled in the center for easy access to the light emitted by the VCSELs.</li>
	<li>Place a photodetector (PD) underneath the transparent stage and align its active area with the bonded chip using a microscope.</li>
	<li>Precisely position the probing needles on the Ni-Au probing pads using a microscope.</li>
	<li>Inject up to 10 mA of current and measure the voltage drop across the VCSEL and the light emitted by it using a current/voltage source-meter unit and a power meter respectively.</li>
</ol>

<ol>
	<li>Davis, E., Harding, W., Schwartz, R., Coring, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Solid+logic+technology:+versatile,+high+performance+microelectronics.">Solid logic technology: versatile, high performance microelectronics.</a> IBM J. Res. Develop. 8, 102-114 (1964).</li><li>Bigas, M., Cabruja, E., Lozano, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Bonding+techniques+for+hybrid+active+pixel+sensors+(HAPS).">Bonding techniques for hybrid active pixel sensors (HAPS).</a> Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A. 574 (2), 392-400 (2007).</li><li>Bohandy, J., Kim, B. F., Adrian, F. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Metal+deposition+from+a+supported+metal+film+using+an+excimer+laser.">Metal deposition from a supported metal film using an excimer laser.</a> J. Appl. Phys. 60 (4), 1538-1539 (1986).</li><li>Kaur, K. S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Shadowgraphic+studies+of+triazene+assisted+laser-induced+forward+transfer+of+ceramic+thin+films.">Shadowgraphic studies of triazene assisted laser-induced forward transfer of ceramic thin films.</a> J. Appl. 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The authors have nothing to disclose.

In this paper, we have demonstrated thermo-compression flip-chip bonding of single VCSEL chips using a laser based direct-write technique called LIFT. The assembly fabrication steps involved printing of the micro-bumps of indium onto the substrate contact pads using the LIFT technique. This was followed by thermo-compression flip-chip bonding of VCSEL chips to the bumped substrates and finally their encapsulation.
Electrical, optical and mechanical reliability of the LIFT-assisted bonded chips...

Laser-induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) is a versatile direct-write additive manufacturing method for single-step pattern definition and material transfer with micron and sub-micron-resolution. In this paper, we report the use of LIFT as a bumping technique for flip-chip packaging of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) on a chip-scale. Flip-chip is a key technology in system packaging and integration of electronic and optoelectronic (OE) components. In order to achieve dense integration of components fine pitch bonding is essential. Although fine pitch bonding has been demonstrated by some of the standard techniques but there is a void in terms of combining together the other important features such as flexibility, cost-effectiveness, speed, accuracy and low processing temperature. In order to meet these requirements we demonstrate LIFT-assisted thermo-compression bonding method for fine pitch bonding of OE components.
In LIFT, a thin film of the material to be printed (referred to as the donor) is deposited onto one face of a laser-transparent support substrate (referred to as the carrier). Figure 1 depicts the basic principle of this technique. An incident laser pulse of sufficient intensity is then focused at the carrier-donor interface that provides the propelling force required to forward transfer the donor pixel from the irradiated zone onto another substrate (referred to as the receiver) placed in close proximity.
LIFT was first reported in 1986 by Bohandy as a technique to print micron-sized copper lines for repairing damaged photo-masks3. Since its first demonstration this technique has gained significant interest as a micro-nano fabrication technology for controlled patterning and printing of a wide range of materials such as ceramics4, CNTs5, QDs6, living cells7, graphene8, for diverse applications such as bio-sensors9, OLEDs10, optoelectronic components 11, plasmonic sensors12, organic-electronics13 and flip-chip bonding14,15.
LIFT offers several advantages over the existing flip-chip bumping and bonding techniques such as simplicity, speed, flexibility, cost-effectiveness, high-resolution and accuracy for flip-chip packaging of OE components.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="663">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:216px;">Name of Material/ Equipment</td>
			<td style="width:161px;">Company</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Catalog Number</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Comments/Description</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Laser source</td>
			<td style="width:161px;">3D MicroMac (3DMM)</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">2912-295</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Photodetector</td>
			<td style="width:161px;">Newport&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">818 series</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Source measurement unit</td>
			<td style="width:161px;">Keithley&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">2401</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Power meter</td>
			<td style="width:161px;">Newport&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">1930</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Underfill</td>
			<td style="width:161px;">Norlands</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">NOA 86</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">UV lamp</td>
			<td style="width:161px;">Omnicure</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Series 1000 UV</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Probe station</td>
			<td style="width:161px;">Cascade Microtech</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">model 42</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Flip-chip bonder</td>
			<td style="width:161px;">Dr. Tresky</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">T-320 X</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

laser-induced forward transfer for flip-chip packaging of single dies

Flip-chip (FC) packaging is a key technology for realizing high performance, ultra-miniaturized and high-density circuits in the micro-electronics industry. In this technique the chip and/or the substrate is bumped and the two are bonded via these conductive bumps. Many bumping techniques have been developed and intensively investigated since the introduction of the FC technology in 19601 such as stencil printing, stud bumping, evaporation and electroless/electroplating2. Despite the progress that these methods have made they all suffer from one or more than one drawbacks that need to be addressed such as cost, complex processing steps, high processing temperatures, manufacturing time and most importantly the lack of flexibility. In this paper, we demonstrate a simple and cost-effective laser-based bump forming technique known as Laser-induced Forward Transfer (LIFT)3. Using the LIFT technique a wide range of bump materials can be printed in a single-step with great flexibility, high speed and accuracy at RT. In addition, LIFT enables the bumping and bonding down to chip-scale, which is critical for fabricating ultra-miniature circuitry.

Figure 7 shows a typical LIV curve that was recorded from one of the many flip-chip bonded VCSEL chips. A good match between the measured optical power to the supplier quoted values indicated successful functioning of the bonded devices post-bonding. The curves were also recorded prior- and post-encapsulation and upon comparison it was verified that the encapsulant had no affect on the chip functionality (as shown in Figure 7). Also, a comparison between the I-V curves recorded for the f...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Laser-induced Forward Transfer for Flip-chip Packaging of Single Dies at JoVE.com

Laser-induced Forward Transfer for Flip-chip Packaging of Single Dies

We demonstrate the use of the Laser-induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) technique for flip-chip assembly of optoelectronic components. This approach provides a simple, cost-effective, low-temperature, fast and flexible solution for fine-pitch bumping and bonding on chip-scale for achieving high-density circuits for optoelectronic applications.

Flip-chip (FC) packaging is a key technology for realizing high performance, ultra-miniaturized and high-density circuits in the micro-electronics ...

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12.3K Aufrufe.  Ghent University-imec.  Wir zeigen die Verwendung des Laser-induzierten Weiterleiten Transfer (LIFT) -Technik für die Flip-Chip-Montage von optoelektronischen Bauelementen. Diese Vorgehensweise stellt eine einfache, kostengünstige, Tieftemperatur, schnelle und flexible Lösung zur Feinabstands Stoßen und Verbinden auf Chipmaßstab zur Erzielung hochdichten Schaltungen für optoelektronische Anwendungen. 

Serie: Laser-induced Forward Transfer for Flip-chip Packaging of Single Dies

Compact Quantum Dots for Single-molecule Imaging

Single-molecule imaging is an important tool for understanding the mechanisms of biomolecular function and for visualizing the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of molecular behaviors that underlie cellular biology 1-4. To image an individual molecule of interest, it is typically conjugated to a fluorescent tag (dye, protein, bead, or quantum dot) and observed with epifluorescence or total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy. While dyes and fluorescent proteins have been the mainstay of fluorescence imaging for decades, their fluorescence is unstable under high photon fluxes necessary to observe individual molecules, yielding only a few seconds of observation before complete loss of signal. Latex beads and dye-labeled beads provide improved signal stability but at the expense of drastically larger hydrodynamic size, which can deleteriously alter the diffusion and behavior of the molecule under study.
Quantum dots (QDs) offer a balance between these two problematic regimes. These nanoparticles are composed of semiconductor materials and can be engineered with a hydrodynamically compact size with exceptional resistance to photodegradation 5. Thus in recent years QDs have been instrumental in enabling long-term observation of complex macromolecular behavior on the single molecule level. However these particles have still been found to exhibit impaired diffusion in crowded molecular environments such as the cellular cytoplasm and the neuronal synaptic cleft, where their sizes are still too large 4,6,7.
Recently we have engineered the cores and surface coatings of QDs for minimized hydrodynamic size, while balancing offsets to colloidal stability, photostability, brightness, and nonspecific binding that have hindered the utility of compact QDs in the past 8,9. The goal of this article is to demonstrate the synthesis, modification, and characterization of these optimized nanocrystals, composed of an alloyed HgxCd1-xSe core coated with an insulating CdyZn1-yS shell, further coated with a multidentate polymer ligand modified with short polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains (Figure 1). Compared with conventional CdSe nanocrystals, HgxCd1-xSe alloys offer greater quantum yields of fluorescence, fluorescence at red and near-infrared wavelengths for enhanced signal-to-noise in cells, and excitation at non-cytotoxic visible wavelengths. Multidentate polymer coatings bind to the nanocrystal surface in a closed and flat conformation to minimize hydrodynamic size, and PEG neutralizes the surface charge to minimize nonspecific binding to cells and biomolecules. The end result is a brightly fluorescent nanocrystal with emission between 550-800 nm and a total hydrodynamic size near 12 nm. This is in the same size range as many soluble globular proteins in cells, and substantially smaller than conventional PEGylated QDs (25-35 nm).

We describe the preparation of colloidal quantum dots with minimized hydrodynamic size for single-molecule fluorescence imaging. Compared to conventional quantum dots, these nanoparticles are similar in size to globular proteins and are optimized for single-molecule brightness, stability against photodegradation, and resistance to nonspecific binding to proteins and cells.

Single-molecule imaging is an important tool for  understanding the mechanisms of biomolecular function and for visualizing the  spatial and temporal ...

Analysis of Contact Interfaces for Single GaN Nanowire Devices

Single GaN nanowire (NW) devices fabricated on SiO2 can exhibit a strong degradation after annealing due to the occurrence of void formation at the contact/SiO2 interface. This void formation can cause cracking and delamination of the metal film, which can increase the resistance or lead to a complete failure of the NW device. In order to address issues associated with void formation, a technique was developed that removes Ni/Au contact metal films from the substrates to allow for the examination and characterization of the contact/substrate and contact/NW interfaces of single GaN NW devices. This procedure determines the degree of adhesion of the contact films to the substrate and NWs and allows for the characterization of the morphology and composition of the contact interface with the substrate and nanowires. This technique is also useful for assessing the amount of residual contamination that remains from the NW suspension and from photolithographic processes on the NW-SiO2 surface prior to metal deposition. The detailed steps of this procedure are presented for the removal of annealed Ni/Au contacts to Mg-doped GaN NWs on a SiO2 substrate.

A technique was developed that removes Ni/Au contact metal films from their substrate to allow for the examination and characterization of the contact/substrate and contact/NW interfaces of single GaN nanowire devices.

Single GaN nanowire (NW) devices fabricated on SiO2 can exhibit  a strong degradation after annealing due to the  occurrence of void formation at the ...

Measurement and Analysis of Atomic Hydrogen and Diatomic Molecular AlO, C2, CN, and TiO Spectra Following Laser-induced Optical Breakdown

In this work, we present time-resolved measurements of atomic and diatomic spectra following laser-induced optical breakdown. A typical LIBS arrangement is used. Here we operate a Nd:YAG laser at a frequency of 10 Hz at the fundamental wavelength of 1,064 nm. The 14 nsec pulses with anenergy of 190 mJ/pulse are focused to a 50 &#181;m spot size to generate a plasma from optical breakdown or laser ablation in air. The microplasma is imaged onto the entrance slit of a 0.6 m spectrometer, and spectra are recorded using an 1,800 grooves/mm grating an intensified linear diode array and optical multichannel analyzer (OMA) or an ICCD. Of interest are Stark-broadened atomic lines of the hydrogen Balmer series to infer electron density. We also elaborate on temperature measurements from diatomic emission spectra of aluminum monoxide (AlO), carbon (C2), cyanogen (CN), and titanium monoxide (TiO).
The experimental procedures include wavelength and sensitivity calibrations. Analysis of the recorded molecular spectra is accomplished by the fitting of data with tabulated line strengths. Furthermore, Monte-Carlo type simulations are performed to estimate the error margins. Time-resolved measurements are essential for the transient plasma commonly encountered in LIBS.

Measurement and Analysis of Atomic Hydrogen and Diatomic Molecular AlO, C2, CN, and TiO Spectra Following Laser-induced Optical Breakdown

Time-resolved atomic and diatomic molecular species are measured using LIBS. The spectra are collected at various time delays following the generation of optical breakdown plasma with Nd:YAG laser radiation&#160;and are analyzed to infer electron density and temperature.

In this work, we present time-resolved measurements of atomic and diatomic spectra following laser-induced optical breakdown. A typical LIBS arrangement ...

Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy: A New Approach for Nanoparticle's Mapping and Quantification in Organ Tissue

Emission spectroscopy of laser-induced plasma was applied to elemental analysis of biological samples. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) performed on thin sections of rodent tissues: kidneys and tumor, allows the detection of inorganic elements such as (i) Na, Ca, Cu, Mg, P, and Fe, naturally present in the body and (ii) Si and Gd, detected after the injection of gadolinium-based nanoparticles. The animals were euthanized 1&#160;to 24 hr&#160;after intravenous injection of particles. A two-dimensional scan of the sample, performed using a motorized micrometric 3D-stage, allowed the infrared laser beam exploring the surface with a lateral resolution less than 100 &#956;m. Quantitative chemical images of Gd element inside the organ were obtained with sub-mM sensitivity. LIBS offers a simple and robust method to study the distribution of inorganic materials without any specific labeling. Moreover, the compatibility of the setup with standard optical microscopy emphasizes its potential to provide multiple images of the same biological tissue with different types of response:&#160;elemental, molecular, or cellular.

Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy: A New Approach for Nanoparticle&#039;s Mapping and Quantification in Organ Tissue

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy performed on thin organ and tumor tissue successfully detected natural elements and artificially injected gadolinium (Gd), issued from Gd-based nanoparticles. Images of chemical elements reached a resolution of 100 &#956;m and quantitative sub-mM sensitivity. The compatibility of the setup with standard optical microscopy emphasizes its potential to provide multiple images of a same biological tissue.

Emission spectroscopy of laser-induced plasma was applied to elemental analysis of biological samples. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) ...

Silicon Metal-oxide-semiconductor Quantum Dots for Single-electron Pumping

As mass-produced silicon transistors have reached the nano-scale, their behavior and performances are increasingly affected, and often deteriorated, by quantum mechanical effects such as tunneling through single dopants, scattering via interface defects, and discrete trap charge states. However, progress in silicon technology has shown that these phenomena can be harnessed and exploited for a new class of quantum-based electronics. Among others, multi-layer-gated silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) technology can be used to control single charge or spin confined in electrostatically-defined quantum dots (QD). These QD-based devices are an excellent platform for quantum computing applications and, recently, it has been demonstrated that they can also be used as single-electron pumps, which are accurate sources of quantized current for metrological purposes. Here, we discuss in detail the fabrication protocol for silicon MOS QDs which is relevant to both quantum computing and quantum metrology applications. Moreover, we describe characterization methods to test the integrity of the devices after fabrication. Finally, we give a brief description of the measurement set-up used for charge pumping experiments and show representative results of electric current quantization.

The fabrication process and experimental characterization techniques relevant to single-electron pumps based on silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor quantum dots are discussed.

As mass-produced silicon transistors have reached the nano-scale, their behavior and performances are increasingly affected, and often deteriorated, by ...

Integration of Light Trapping Silver Nanostructures in Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon Solar Cells by Transfer Printing

One of the potential applications of metal nanostructures is light trapping in solar cells, where unique optical properties of nanosized metals, commonly known as plasmonic effects, play an important role. Research in this field has, however, been impeded owing to the difficulty of fabricating devices containing the desired functional metal nanostructures. In order to provide a viable strategy to this issue, we herein show a transfer printing-based approach that allows the quick and low-cost integration of designed metal nanostructures with a variety of device architectures, including solar cells. Nanopillar poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamps were fabricated from a commercially available nanohole plastic film as a master mold. On this nanopatterned PDMS stamps, Ag films were deposited, which were then transfer-printed onto block copolymer (binding layer)-coated hydrogenated microcrystalline Si (&#181;c-Si:H) surface to afford ordered Ag nanodisk structures. It was confirmed that the resulting Ag nanodisk-incorporated &#181;c-Si:H solar cells show higher performances compared to a cell without the transfer-printed Ag nanodisks, thanks to plasmonic light trapping effect derived from the Ag nanodisks. Because of the simplicity and versatility, further device application would also be feasible thorough this approach.

A viable transfer printing-based methodology to introduce plasmonic metal nanostructures in solar cells is described. Using nanopillar poly(dimethylsiloxane) stamps, an Ag-based ordered nanodisk array was integrated with standard hydrogenated microcrystalline Si solar cells, which led to improved device performances due to plasmonic light trapping.

One of the potential applications of metal nanostructures is light trapping in solar cells, where unique optical properties of nanosized metals, commonly ...

Laser-induced Forward Transfer of Ag Nanopaste

Over the past decade, there has been much development of non-lithographic methods1-3 for printing metallic inks or other functional materials. Many of these processes such as inkjet3 and laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT)4 have become increasingly popular as interest in printable electronics and maskless patterning has grown. These additive manufacturing processes are inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and well suited for rapid prototyping, when compared to more traditional semiconductor processing techniques. While most direct-write processes are confined to two-dimensional structures and cannot handle materials with high viscosity (particularly inkjet), LIFT can transcend both constraints if performed properly. Congruent transfer of three dimensional pixels (called voxels), also referred to as laser decal transfer (LDT)5-9, has recently been demonstrated with the LIFT technique using highly viscous Ag nanopastes to fabricate freestanding interconnects, complex voxel shapes, and high-aspect-ratio structures. In this paper, we demonstrate a simple yet versatile process for fabricating a variety of micro- and macroscale Ag structures. Structures include simple shapes for patterning electrical contacts, bridging and cantilever structures, high-aspect-ratio structures, and single-shot, large area transfers using a commercial digital micromirror device (DMD) chip.

We demonstrate the use of the Laser-induced forward transfer technique (LIFT) for the printing of high-viscosity Ag paste. This technique offers a simple, low temperature, robust process for non-lithographically printing microscale 2D and 3D structures.

Over the past decade, there has been much development of non-lithographic methods1-3 for printing metallic inks or other functional materials. Many of ...

Fabrication of 1-D Photonic Crystal Cavity on a Nanofiber Using Femtosecond Laser-induced Ablation

We present a protocol for fabricating 1-D Photonic Crystal (PhC) cavities on subwavelength-diameter tapered optical fibers, optical nanofibers, using femtosecond laser-induced ablation. We show that thousands of periodic nano-craters are fabricated on an optical nanofiber by irradiating with just a single femtosecond laser pulse. For a typical sample, periodic nano-craters with a period of 350 nm and with diameter gradually varying from 50 - 250 nm over a length of 1 mm are fabricated on a nanofiber with diameter around 450 - 550 nm. A key aspect of such a nanofabrication is that the nanofiber itself acts as a cylindrical lens and focuses the femtosecond laser beam on its shadow surface. Moreover, the single-shot fabrication makes it immune to mechanical instabilities and other fabrication imperfections. Such periodic nano-craters on nanofiber, act as a 1-D PhC and enable strong and broadband reflection while maintaining the high transmission out of the stopband. We also present a method to control the profile of the nano-crater array to fabricate apodized and defect-induced PhC cavities on the nanofiber. The strong confinement of the field, both transverse and longitudinal, in the nanofiber-based PhC cavities and the efficient integration to the fiber networks, may open new possibilities for nanophotonic applications and quantum information science.

We present a protocol for fabricating 1-D photonic crystal cavities on subwavelength diameter silica fibers (optical nanofibers) using femtosecond laser-induced ablation.

We present a protocol for fabricating 1-D Photonic Crystal (PhC) cavities on subwavelength-diameter tapered optical fibers, optical nanofibers, using ...

Scanning Light Scattering Profiler (SLPS) Based Methodology to Quantitatively Evaluate Forward and Backward Light Scattering from Intraocular Lenses

The scanning light scattering profiler (SLSP) methodology has been developed for the full-angle quantitative evaluation of forward and backward light scattering from intraocular lenses (IOLs) using goniophotometer principles. This protocol describes the SLSP platform and how it employs a 360&#176; rotational photodetector sensor that is scanned around an IOL sample while recording the intensity and location of scattered light as it passes through the IOL medium. The SLSP platform can be used to predict, non-clinically, the propensity for current and novel IOL designs and materials to induce light scatter. Non-clinical evaluation of light scattering properties of IOLs can significantly reduce the number of patient complaints related to unwanted glare, glistening, optical defects, poor image quality, and other phenomena associated with the unintended light scattering. Future studies should be conducted to correlate SLSP data with clinical results to help identify which measured light scatter is most problematic for patients that have undergone cataract surgery subsequent to IOL implantation.

Scanning Light Scattering Profiler SLPS Based Methodology to Quantitatively Evaluate Forward and Backward Light Scattering from Intraocular Lenses

This protocol describes the scanning light scattering profiler (SLSP) that enables the full-angle quantitative evaluation of forward and backward scattering of light from intraocular lenses (IOLs) using goniophotometer principles.

The scanning light scattering profiler (SLSP) methodology has been developed for the full-angle quantitative evaluation of forward and backward light ...

All-electronic Nanosecond-resolved Scanning Tunneling Microscopy: Facilitating the Investigation of Single Dopant Charge Dynamics

The miniaturization of semiconductor devices to scales where small numbers of dopants can control device properties requires the development of new techniques capable of characterizing their dynamics. Investigating single dopants requires sub-nanometer spatial resolution, which motivates the use of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). However, conventional STM is limited to millisecond temporal resolution. Several methods have been developed to overcome this shortcoming, including all-electronic time-resolved STM, which is used in this study to examine dopant dynamics in silicon with nanosecond resolution. The methods presented here are widely accessible and allow for local measurement of a wide variety of dynamics at the atomic scale. A novel time-resolved scanning tunneling spectroscopy technique is presented and used to efficiently search for dynamics.

We demonstrate an all-electronic method to observe nanosecond-resolved charge dynamics of dopant atoms in silicon with a scanning tunneling microscope.

The miniaturization of semiconductor devices to scales where small numbers of dopants can control device properties requires the development of new ...