The Fabrication of Micro/Nano Structures by Laser Machining

Abstract

Micro/nano structures have unique optical, electrical, magnetic, and thermal properties. Studies on the preparation of micro/nano structures are of considerable research value and broad development prospects. Several micro/nano structure preparation techniques have already been developed, such as photolithography, electron beam lithography, focused ion beam techniques, nanoimprint techniques. However, the available geometries directly implemented by those means are limited to the 2D mode. Laser machining, a new technology for micro/nano structural preparation, has received great attention in recent years for its wide application to almost all types of materials through a scalable, one-step method, and its unique 3D processing capabilities, high manufacturing resolution and high designability. In addition, micro/nano structures prepared by laser machining have a wide range of applications in photonics, Surface plasma resonance, optoelectronics, biochemical sensing, micro/nanofluidics, photofluidics, biomedical, and associated fields. In this paper, updated achievements of laser-assisted fabrication of micro/nano structures are reviewed and summarized. It focuses on the researchers’ findings, and analyzes materials, morphology, possible applications and laser machining of micro/nano structures in detail. Seven kinds of materials are generalized, including metal, organics or polymers, semiconductors, glass, oxides, carbon materials, and piezoelectric materials. In the end, further prospects to the future of laser machining are proposed.

Laser Thermal Processing of Group IV Semiconductors for Integrated Photonic Systems

“…In this sense, this Review is complementary to the existing reviews that cover application of ultrafast lasers for patterning, deposition, and machining of materials in general. [14,16,[163][164][165][166][167][168] More historical progress for laser annealing of ion-implanted semiconductors are given in previous studies. [169][170][171] By applying laser thermal processing to the SCFs, it is possible not only to produce fibers with monocrystalline core materials with the lowest optical losses of this fiber class, but also to engineer the bandgap, composition, structure, and morphology of these cores.…”

Short-Pulse Lasers: A Versatile Tool in Creating Novel Nano-/Micro-Structures and Compositional Analysis for Healthcare and Wellbeing Challenges

“…Emerged as a “green” synthesis method, pulsed laser ablation in liquid appeared as a relevant process in the elaboration of ultra-clean colloidal NPs for a variety of applications, including in electronics, energy production and nanomedicine [ 43 , 44 , 63 ]. In fact, the PLAL process exhibits numerous advantages over conventional chemical methods, such as the possibility of direct NPs synthesis in deionized water without stabilizing ligands or other organic dispersant molecules.…”

“…Driven by the requirements of precision, repeatability, flexibility and cleanliness, short-pulse lasers appeared as multifaceted tools able to design a panel of engineered platforms, including ultraclean colloidal nanoparticles, micro-/nano-structured objects, 3D microenvironments, and even capable to perform multi-elemental analysis of bio-systems [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. In fact, the interactions of short-pulse laser radiation with solid material lead to the ablation of ionized matter, which assemble to clusters of nanocrystals when the irradiation occurs in liquid environment (e.g., ultrapure aqueous solution) [ 46 , 47 ].…”

Polystyrene Thin Films Nanostructuring by UV Femtosecond Laser Beam: From One Spot to Large Surface

“…The lithographic method requires clean-room facilities and multi-step procedure involving complex mask fabrication [ 8 ]. Laser patterning can be a powerful technique for high-resolution surface nano-engineering [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. It is a non-contact, mask-less, and flexible/versatile method with direct generation of micro- and nano-structures called laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) observed on a wide range of materials, such as semiconductors [ 13 , 14 ], metals and alloys [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ], metal oxides [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ], inorganic compounds [ 24 , 25 ], and polymers [ 26 ].…”