Laser-induced forward transfer-printing of focused ion beam pre-machined crystalline magneto-optic garnet discs

Abstract

Laser-Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) is a laser-based printing technique which has been regularly employed in the printing of many different materials, on various substrates, for the realization of many diverse applications. There are however some fundamental difficulties inherent to LIFT printing, and these include unavoidable partial ablation or melting of a surface region of the printed donor material due to the absorption of the laser pulse. Sacrificial, absorbing layer based methods have been used to avoid this, however, these Dynamic Release Layer (DRL) LIFT methods result in contamination of the deposits. DRL-LIFT of comparatively brittle materials such as single crystals is problematic since the growth of a thin crystalline donor film directly on top of a polymer DRL is impossible because the high substrate temperatures required for thin film epitaxial growth are far higher than the polymer decomposition temperatures. Another problem concerns the unavoidable shearing and tearing of the donor around its edges during transfer. To achieve much more precise and controlled printing, pre-patterning of donor is therefore highly desirable to precisely define the spatial extent of donor to be transferred. We report femtosecond LIFT printing of focussed ion beam pre-machined crystalline magneto-optic Yttrium Iron Garnet donors. Debris-free circular micro-disks with smooth edges and surface uniformity have been successfully printed from pre-machined donors.

EMRS 2012 Materials Research Society Spring Meeting Strasbourg 14-18 May (2012)