Laser-induced forward transfer techniques for printing functional materials and photonic devices

Abstract

The subject of this thesis is to study the Laser-Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) technique using a time-resolved method in order to gain a better insight into the dynamics of the transfer process and to use the technique for rapid prototyping of photonic devices and printing piezoelectric materials for energy harvesting applications. A nanosecond shadowgraphy technique was used to study the triazene polymer (TP)-dynamic release layer (DRL) assisted LIFT technique for solid-phase ceramic materials namely gadolinium gallium oxide (Gd-Ga-O) and ytterbium doped yttrium aluminium oxide (Yb:YAG). The dependence of the distance travelled by the shockwave and the ejected donor material, their velocities and the quality of the ejected donor pixel on the laser fluence, the thickness of the TP-DRL and donor film thickness was studied and is discussed. Segmented channel waveguides, X-couplers and mode-filters based on titanium (Ti) indiffused lithium niobate (LN) have been fabricated using the LIFT technique. The segment separation was found to be the key factor in determining mode profiles of waveguides. The corrugations due to the segmented nature of the deposits was observed to introduce non-adiabatic behavior in the mode filters which was further confirmed by theoretical modeling. Forward transfer of donor films with patterns to be transferred machined into them prior to LIFT have been investigated. This technique allows debris-free printing of thicker and fragile donors films with extremely smooth and uniform edges in intact and solid-phase without the need of any sacrificial layer. Results of debris-free printing of micro-pellets of zinc oxide (ZnO) with extremely good quality edges from donor films pre-machined using focused ion beam (FIB) are presented. Printing and post-transfer characterization of both lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and non-lead based ZnO piezoelectric materials for energy harvesting applications using the LIFT and TP-DRL assisted LIFT techniques have been studied and discussed.

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ORCID for R.W. Eason: orcid.org/0000-0001-9704-2204

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