Starchy nanocomposite films; gold microsphere ACF; photoresist for faster TPL.
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London created biodegradable, flexible, and electrically conductive nanocomposite films made using potato starch instead of petroleum-based materials. The starch-based films decompose within a month when buried in soil.
In addition to starch, the nanocomposite films contain the conductive 2D material MXene. Adjusting the concentration of MXene provided precise control over the films’ mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, and sensing capabilities. The researchers note that this tunability enables the film to be used in various applications ranging from healthcare to wearables, including monitoring human body movement, tactile sensing, and electronic smart skins. [1]
Researchers from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science developed a new way to fabricate gold microsphere array-based anisotropic conductive adhesives film (ACF) for advanced packaging.
The positioned self-assembly and laser-irradiated ripening technique relies on a rapid layer-by-layer laser-induced melting and fusion process that facilitates precise control and is compatible with industrial lithography. The microspheres fuse together smoothly with treated with the laser, creating a stable and durable material that is more flexible and resistant to electrical problems under pressure compared to ACF made from metal-coated polymer microsphere arrays.
The approach can also be used to create different kinds of microspheres, such as alloy microspheres made from gold and other metals. One possible application flagged by the researchers is bonding of micro-LED chips. [2]
Researchers from Zhejiang Lab, University of Science and Technology of China, and Zhejiang Yangfan New Materials propose a new type of cationic epoxy photoresist called TP-EO that improves the speed and detail of two-photon laser direct writing lithography (TPL).
TPL can directly build complex 3D shapes that include features like overhangs and suspended elements, but it is slower than UV lithography. Compared to traditional SU-8 epoxy photoresists, the new TP-EO photoresist showed around 600 times greater sensitivity to two-photon laser exposure.
“We demonstrated the 3D fabricated structures with fine features of less than 200 nm and fast writing speed of 100 mm/s using nanolattices to show potential application for high-throughput nanofabrication of microscopic 3D devices,” said Cuifang Kuang, a professor at Zhejiang Lab. “Such a high-performance TP-EO photoresist is suitable for the scalable fabrication of complex architectures for various applications, such as optical gratings, diffraction elements, MEMS microfluidic devices, and tissue engineering scaffolds.” [3]
[1] M. Dong, A. Soul, Y. Li, E. Bilotti, H. Zhang, P. Cataldi, D. G. Papageorgiou, Transient Starch-Based Nanocomposites for Sustainable Electronics and Multifunctional Sensing. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2024, 2412138. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202412138
[2] Cao, A., Gong, Y., Liu, D. et al. Rapid fabrication of gold microsphere arrays with stable deep-pressing anisotropic conductivity for advanced packaging. Nat Commun 15, 9182 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53407-x
[3] Z. Ma, T. Li, X. Dai, X. Shen, X. Wang, H. Fu, X. Xia, Q. Zhu, Y. Zhu, Z. Yu, C. Cao, S. You, C. Kuang, Highly Sensitive Cationic Photoresist for High-Throughput Two-Photon Nanofabrication. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2024, 2409859. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202409859
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Leave a Reply