Digital laser micro- and nanoprinting

Laser direct writing is a well-established ablation technology for high-resolution patterning of surfaces, and since the development of additive manufacturing, laser processes have also appeared very attractive for the digital fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) objects at the macro-scale, from few millimeters to meters. On the other hand, laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) has demonstrated its ability to print a wide range of materials and to build functional micro-devices. For many years, the minimum size of laser-printed pixels was few tens of micrometers and is usually organized in two dimensions. Recently, new approaches have been investigated, and the potential of LIFT technology for printing 2D and 3D sub-micrometer structures has become real. After a brief description of the LIFT process, this review presents the pros and cons of the different digital laser printing technologies in the aim of the additive nanomanufacturing application. The transfer of micro- and nano-dots in the liquid phase from a solid donor film appears to be the most promising approach to reach the goal of 3D nanofabrication, and the latest achievements obtained with this method are presented and discussed.