Method and apparatus for the thin film deposition of materials with a high power pulsed laser

A process for depositing a shaped thin film of material comprising:

• providing a pulsed laser emitting a pulsed laser beam;
• providing a receiving substrate disposed opposite the pulsed laser;
• providing an optically transparent source support substrate disposed between the receiving substrate and the pulsed laser, the source support substrate facing the receiving substrate being provided with a thin film of material to be deposited on the receiving substrate, the thin film having a back surface in contact with the source support substrate and a front surface facing the receiving substrate;
• providing a lens system;
• focusing the pulsed laser beam on the back surface of the thin film at the interface between the source support substrate and the back surface with the lens system while shaping the laser beam with the lens system;
• boiling and vaporizing a shaped portion of the back surface of the thin film through the action of the pulsed, shaped laser beam and trapping the thus produced vapor between the source support substrate and the thin film of material;
• and
• transferring a shaped portion of the thin film of material by exploding the trapped vaporized shaped portion of the back surface of the thin film and driving the thin film from the source support substrate onto the receiving substrate;
• wherein the material transferred is substantially of the same quality and content as the thin film of material.