LIFT TECHNOLOGY CAN NOW TRANSFER COMPLEX PATTERNS WITH SINGLE LASER SHOTS open site


Date: May 27, 2014
LIFT TECHNOLOGY CAN NOW TRANSFER COMPLEX PATTERNS WITH SINGLE LASER SHOTS

ALPhANOV used the LIFT technology to achieve the transfer of complex patterns with single laser shots. Initial experiments successfully transferred gold patterns on a silicon substrate.

The LIFT technology (Laser-Induced Forward Transfer) consists in transferring a substrate material called "donor" to a "receiver" substrate via the energy supplied by a laser beam. The characteristics of the material to be transferred and those of the "receiver" substrate determine the characteristics of the laser beam to use: wavelength, power, pulse length, shape and size of the beam. LIFT technology is mainly a point-to- point technology and producing complex patterns requires moving the laser beam.

In the experiment performed by ALPhANOV, a complex pattern in gold has been successfully transferred onto a silicon substrate with a single laser shot with a mask reproducing the pattern to be transferred. The mask is dynamically formed by an array of micro–mirrors in which each mirror can be independently controlled. Single shot technic brings a higher speed and, thanks to no moving parts, a better stability than in the point-to-point LIFT transfer. This experiment will be duplicated with other couples "donor-receiver ".

The laser source used in this experiment was developed by the company Laselec, through the VESUVE project, funded by the French FUI (Fonds Unique Interministériel). This project aims to develop new solutions for high-speed aircraft cable marking.