Additive nanomanufacturing and dry printing of electronics and functional devices

Additively manufactured electronics (AMEs), also known as printed electronics, have relied on ink-based printing technologies, such as inkjet and aerosol jet printers, which require i) expensive and extensive ink formulation processes, ii) the need for a complex and polluting supply chain, and iii) the need for high-temperature post-processing. This has created issues such as surfactants and contaminants, limited availability of printing ink, and unstable ink properties. Here, a multimaterial additive nanomanufacturing and dry printing technique utilizing directed laser deposition at both the nano- and microscales is demonstrated, enabling the printing of lateral and vertical hybrid structures and devices. This technique involves pulsed laser ablation of solid targets for the in-situ generation of contamination-free nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are then guided via a carrier gas toward the nozzle and onto the surface of the substrate, where they are sintered and printed in real-time by a second laser. Different devices and materials, such as Ag, Cu, Pt, Zn, AU, ZnO, TiO2, BTO, Al2O3, and many other materials, are printed in a single-step process.