Laser Material Interactions for Soft Electronics

This seminar introduces recent progresses of laser material interactions that can extend the application of self-powered soft electronics in both materials and processes. Laser technology is extremely important for the future of flexible electronics, allowing high-temperature processing on plastics vital for high-performance electronics, due to its ultra-short pulse duration; for example, low temperature poly-silicone (LTPS) process enables over 1000 °C process on plastics, without damaging the flexible substrates. Specifically, this seminar presents current laser usages in soft electronics, which are classified into four main categories: i) ultrashort heat treatment for annealing or sintering inorganic materials on flexible substrates, ii) laser-induced reaction that leads to a new type of material different from its initial state, iii) exfoliation that separates thin films and devices from their parent substrate for high performance flexible inorganic electronics, and iv) laser-induced etching (LIE), which consists of laser material modification and subsequent wet etching for flexible micro LED. These technologies can produce complex three-dimensional and stretchable structures for human oriented soft electronics. Additionally, various applications of laser–material interaction for inorganic-based flexible devices, including self-powered acoustic sensors, blood pressure monitor, massive transfer of optoelectronics and nanomaterial synthesis will be demonstrated.