Area-Selective Atomic Layer Deposition Patterned by Electrohydrodynamic Jet Printing for Additive Manufacturing of...

Area of Science:

• Nanomanufacturing and Materials Science
• Additive Manufacturing
• Thin-Film Deposition

Background:

• Growing demand for customizable patterning of functional materials and devices.
• Limited techniques offer direct 3D printing of functional materials with sub-micron resolution.
• Area-selective atomic layer deposition (AS-ALD) requires precise inhibitor patterning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate electrohydrodynamic jet (e-jet) printing for sub-micron resolution patterning.
• To utilize e-jet printing as an inhibitor for area-selective atomic layer deposition (AS-ALD).
• To fabricate functional electronic devices using combined additive and subtractive e-jet printing with AS-ALD.

Main Methods:

• Additive e-jet printing of polymer inhibitors with an average line width of 312 nm.
• Subtractive e-jet printing using solvent inks to pattern inhibitor removal.
• Characterization of chemical selectivity and morphology using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Auger electron spectroscopy.

Main Results:

• Achieved sub-micron resolution patterning for AS-ALD of metal oxides (ZnO, Al2O3, SnO2).
• Demonstrated tunable composition, Å-scale thickness control, and sub-μm resolution patterning.
• Fabricated a thin-film transistor using zinc-tin-oxide and aluminum-doped zinc oxide.

Conclusions:

• E-jet printing is a versatile technique for precise patterning in nanomanufacturing.
• The developed method enables localized AS-ALD for fabricating complex functional materials.
• This approach holds potential for printing integrated electronics with sub-micron resolution.