High-speed video study of laser-induced forward transfer of silver nano-suspensions

High-speed video (100 000 fps) is used to examine the behavior of silver nanoparticle suspensions ejected from a donor substrate during laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) as a function of viscosity, donor film thickness, and voxel area. Both high-speed video and inspection of the post-transferred material indicate dramatic changes in the behavior of the fluid as the viscosity of the nano-suspensions increases from that of inks (∼0.01 Pa·s) to pastes (>100 Pa·s). Over a specific range of viscosities (90–150 Pa·s) and laser fluences (35–65 mJ/cm²), the ejected voxels precisely reproduce the size and shape of the laser spot. This LIFT regime is known as laser decal transfer or LDT. Analysis of the high-speed video indicates that the speeds of the voxels released by the LDT process do not exceed 1 m/s. Such transfer speeds are at least an order of magnitude lower than those associated with other LIFT processes, thus minimizing voxel deformation during flight and upon impact with the receiving substrate. Variation in the threshold fluence for initiating the LDT process is measured as a function of donor film thickness and transfer spot size. Overall, the congruent nature of the silver nanopaste voxels deposited by LDT is unique among non-contact digital printing techniques given its control of the voxel's size and shape, thus allowing partial parallelization of the direct-write process.