Lift Printing of Fine Metal Lines
OwnerSharona Cohen, Ofer Fogel +1inventors
InventorsSharona Cohen, Ofer Fogel, Zvi Kotler
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Abstract
A method for circuit fabrication includes defining a locus of a conductive trace to be formed on a circuit substrate. Molten droplets of a metal are ejected from a donor substrate in proximity to the circuit substrate onto the defined locus by a process of laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT), whereby the droplets adhere to and harden on the circuit substrate along a length of the defined locus. After the droplets have hardened, a laser beam is directed toward the defined locus with sufficient energy to cause the metal in the hardened droplets to melt and coalesce into a bulk layer extending along the length of the defined locus.
Claims27
A method for circuit fabrication, comprising:
- defining a locus of a conductive trace to be formed on a circuit substrate;
- ejecting molten droplets of a metal from a donor substrate in proximity to the circuit substrate onto the defined locus by a process of laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT), whereby the molten droplets adhere to and harden on the circuit substrate along a length of the defined locus;
- and
- after the molten droplets have hardened, directing a laser beam toward the defined locus with sufficient energy to cause the metal in the hardened droplets to melt and coalesce into a bulk layer extending along the length of the defined locus.
An apparatus for fabrication of a conductive trace on a circuit substrate, the apparatus comprising:
- a deposition module, which is configured to eject molten droplets of a metal from a donor substrate in proximity to the circuit substrate onto a defined locus of the conductive trace by a process of laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT), whereby the molten droplets adhere to and harden on the circuit substrate along a length of the defined locus;
- and
- a laser module, which is configured to direct a laser beam toward the defined locus with sufficient energy to cause the metal in the hardened droplets to melt and coalesce into a bulk layer extending along the length of the defined locus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.