Sacrificial layer-assisted nanoscale transfer printing

Junshan Liu; Bo Pang; Riye Xue; Rui Li; Jinlong Song; Xiaojun Zhao; Dazhi Wang; Xiaoguang Hu; Yao Lu; Liding Wang

doi:10.1038/s41378-020-00195-1

Sacrificial layer-assisted nanoscale transfer printing

Microsyst Nanoeng. 2020 Sep 21:6:80. doi: 10.1038/s41378-020-00195-1. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Junshan Liu^{1

2}, Bo Pang¹, Riye Xue³, Rui Li³, Jinlong Song¹, Xiaojun Zhao¹, Dazhi Wang¹, Xiaoguang Hu¹, Yao Lu⁴, Liding Wang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Technology and System of Liaoning Province, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning 116024 China.
² Key Laboratory for Precision and Non-Traditional Machining Technology of the Ministry of Education, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning 116024 China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning 116024 China.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS UK.

Abstract

Transfer printing is an emerging assembly technique for flexible and stretchable electronics. Although a variety of transfer printing methods have been developed, transferring patterns with nanometer resolution remains challenging. We report a sacrificial layer-assisted nanoscale transfer printing method. A sacrificial layer is deposited on a donor substrate, and ink is prepared on and transferred with the sacrificial layer. Introducing the sacrificial layer into the transfer printing process eliminates the effect of the contact area on the energy release rate (ERR) and ensures that the ERR for the stamp/ink-sacrificial layer interface is greater than that for the sacrificial layer/donor interface even at a slow peel speed (5 mm s^-1). Hence, large-area nanoscale patterns can be successfully transferred with a yield of 100%, such as Au nanoline arrays (100 nm thick, 4 mm long and 47 nm wide) fabricated by photolithography techniques and PZT nanowires (10 mm long and 63 nm wide) fabricated by electrohydrodynamic jet printing, using only a blank stamp and without the assistance of any interfacial chemistries. Moreover, the presence of the sacrificial layer also enables the ink to move close to the mechanical neutral plane of the multilayer peel-off sheet, remarkably decreasing the bending stress and obviating cracks or fractures in the ink during transfer printing.

Keywords: Nanoscale materials; Nanoscience and technology.