High Resolution Additive Manufacturing: A New Tool for Advancing Electronics

ABSTRACT High resolution additive manufacturing (AM) is an emerging area for fabricating 3D micro- and nano-scale structures. It promises new design flexibility through both targeted local deposition of materials and enhanced geometric freedom. While most previous developments have focused on polymeric-based materials, recent innovations have also opened the design space to metals and dielectrics, unlocking new possibilities for fabricating electronic and photonic devices. Through a broad introduction of both transfer- and synthesis-based methods, this work outlines the foundational principles of micro- and nano-scale AM techniques and highlights some of the key advances that suggest a promising future for integration with nanotechnologies. This overview highlights key differences in transfer-based techniques which rely on physical transfer of material through either mechanical or electrical manipulation and synthesis-based techniques which directly deposit or grow materials through control of localized chemical reactions. Building from the discussion of existing techniques, this work also highlights potential opportunities for advancing device capabilities and explores the limitations of high resolution AM from both fabrication and materials perspectives. With new opportunities ranging from fabrication of nanoscale dielectric lattices for photonic[1] to ultra-low k dielectrics[2] and enhanced thermal managements through internal channel architecture[3], high resolution AM shows a promise for enhancing electronics performance through integration with nanotechnological design.