Femtosecond laser trapping nanoprinting of silver micro/nanostructures

In this paper, silver micro/nanostructures composed of sintered nanoparticles were printed by capturing silver nanoparticles in water with 800 nm femtosecond laser trapping. Relationships of laser power, scanning speed, nanoparticle concentration, and the width and morphology of fabricated silver wire were systematically investigated. It is found that low scanning speed and high nanoparticle concentration favor the printing of silver wire with good morphology. A silver wire with width of 305 nm was printed. Electrical resistivities of printed wires are about 24 times that of bulk silver. Silver grid structures and dot arrays were printed by using this technology. Several three-dimensional silver cuboid structures were also printed. This work provides a protocol for printing of three-dimensional metallic micro/nanostructures using laser trapping. These printed structures have great application prospects in metamaterials, flexible electronics, and SERS.

Automated summary

In this study, silver micro/nanostructures were printed by capturing silver nanoparticles in water with an 800 nm femtosecond laser trapping. The relationships between laser power, scanning speed, nanoparticle concentration, and the morphology of fabricated silver wire were systematically investigated. Low scanning speed and high nanoparticle concentration were found to be favorable for printing silver wire with good morphology, resulting in a wire width of 305 nm. The printed structures have potential applications in metamaterials, flexible electronics, and SERS.