Nanoscale Printing of Indium-Tin-Oxide by Femtosecond Laser Pulses

For constructing optical and electrical micro-devices, the deposition/printing of materials with sub-1 mu m precision and size (cross-section) is required. Crystalline c-ITO (indium tin oxide) nanostructures were patterned on glass with sufficient precision to form 20-50 nm gaps between individual disks or lines of similar to 250 nm diameter or width. The absorbed energy density [J/cm(3)] followed a second-order dependence on pulse energy. This facilitated high-resolution and precise nanoscale laser-writing at a laser wavelength of 515 nm. Patterns for optical elements such as circular gratings and micro-disks were laser-printed using ITO as a resist. Unexposed amorphous a-ITO was chemically removed in aqueous 1% vol. HF solution. This use of a-ITO as a solid resist holds promise for metamaterial and micro-optical applications.