Laser-induced metal deposition from aqueous electrolytes

It is shown that the use of laser-assisted electrolysis is of interest wherever a selective metal deposition at high deposition rates is required. The most important applications in the near future are likely to be selective coating of contact materials in electronics and, above all, the development of a maskless, etch-free printed circuit board production. Owing to the high deposition rate, large-area electroless coating with the aid of a grating technique might be of interest for certain systems.