3D-NanoLIFT

Topics: photonic processes, laser nano-printing, 3D manufacturing
Concerned disciplinary fields: micro and nano technologies, physics
Summary: 3D additive manufacturing is presented as the fourth industrial revolution and laser processes are key players of these technological developments. This project proposes to develop a digital printing technology to realize 3D structures by the deposition of pixels with elementary sizes ranging from 100nm to few micrometers. The approach is based on the double pulse Laser-Induced Forward Process (LIFT) and this study will be focused on metallic and semiconductor materials. The process consists in the irradiation by a first long duration laser pulse of a solid thin film deposited on a transparent donor substrate, to locally melt the film, followed by a second irradiation with a short pulse laser beam (fs, ps) to initiate the formation of a liquid jet which expands towards a receiver substrate, set in front of the donor one, and forms a solid pixel on the receiver. The ambition of the project is to create a double pulse LIFT. As the first contact-free nano-printing process, it would open the way to the manufacturing of nano-photonic compounds (photonic crystals, metamaterials …) in the visible and near infrared spectral range.
Project interlocutor: Philippe Delaporte, LP3 (UMR 7341)
Project duration: 04/01/2018 – 03/31/2021
Call for application: Emergence et Innovation 2016
Photography credits: Photography by Ines Álvarez Fdez on Unsplash, License