Effect of UV/ozone treatment on interactions between ink-jet printed Cu patterns and polyimide substrates

In this study, we apply UV/ozone treatment to modify the surface properties of polyimide substrate and investigate the effects of UV/ozone treatment on surface properties of polyimide and the morphologies of ink-jet printed Cu patterns. Wettability of polyimide surface is enhanced by UV/ozone treatment as confirmed by contact angle analysis and XPS results. The change in wettability affected droplet sizes and morphologies of ink-jet-printed lines. The average droplet size increased from 26.8 μm on untreated polyimide to 42.5 μm after UV/ozone treatment. Furthermore, irregular patterns of coexisting beads and short lines were observed in untreated polyimide film, despite minimal overlap of dots. In contrast, patterns that were ink-jet printed on polyimide film that was modified by UV/ozone for 1 h showed continuous lines with straight edges.     

Microstructural characterization of thin gold films on a polyimide substrate

The study of thin metal films on flexible substrates is of interest for manufacture of many devices, such as implantable electrode arrays consisting of gold film on polyimide substrates. Adhesion of the film to the substrate is of utmost importance for device durability. Gold adhesion to a polyimide has previously been shown to increase when a variety of substrate treatments are performed prior to gold sputter deposition, but little microstructural analysis has been made to complete the process-structure-properties relationship. Here, the grain size is shown to increase slightly but statistically significantly if an oxygen plasma etch and adhesion layer treatment of the film is performed prior to deposition of the gold. A log-normal grain size distribution is found for gold on each sample, and the grains are shown to be columnar. Gold deposited on non-treated polyimide shows a strong {111} texture, but a random texture is seen in both pretreated systems, indicating that the pretreatment affects the surface energy of the polyimide and alters the gold film growth.     

Laser-assisted maskless microdeposition of silver nano-particles on a magnesium substrate

Laser-assisted maskless microdeposition and silver nano-particles are used to create micro-scale patterns with nano-scale topography on a magnesium substrate for potential biomedical applications. By controlling the processing parameters, various patterns and properties are achieved. The electron microscopy analysis of a sample prepared by focused ion beam microscope provides evidence for excellent bounding and effective surface alloying across the interface.     

Synthesis of vertically oriented GaN nanowires on a LiAlO2 substrate via chemical vapor deposition

Vertically oriented nanowires (NWs) of single-crystalline wurtzite GaN have been fabricated on γ-LiAlO₂ (100) substrate coated with a Au layer, via a chemical vapor deposition process at 1000 °C using gallium and ammonia as source materials. The GaN NWs grow along the nonpolar [100] direction with steeply tapering tips, and have triangular cross-sections with widths of 50–100 nm and lengths of up to several microns. The GaN NWs are formed by a vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism and the tapering tips are attributed to the temperature decrease in the final stage of the synthesis process. The aligned GaN NWs show blue-yellow emission originating from defect levels, residual impurities or surface states of the GaN NWs, and have potential applications in nanotechnology.