C2019-44

About

Technology # 19-44 Additive manufacturing of metals generally involves laser-sintered metal powders for large parts and large feature sizes. Nanometer-to-micrometer-scale features, like those of interest to plasmonic, microelectronic, optoelectronic, catalytic and other applications, require the metallization of 3D-printed templates. The templates are formed on expensive two-photon 3D-printing systems and are generally small in extent (a few square millimeters) and slow to produce, making this a difficult strategy for scale-up. We have invented a bench-top, chemical process to form three-dimensional, microstructure noble metal interfaces without a clean room or costly capital equipment. Our current capabilities can achieve feature sizes of 10 microns, though we are aiming to improve our feature sizes (down to 1 micron) in the next year. Our process is completely parallel in area, meaning that it takes the same amount of time to grow three dimensional features in 1 mm^2, 1 cm^2, or even across an entire wafer. Unlike other metallization processes (evaporation, sputtering) that waste a majority of the materials that go into the process, our approach is atom-efficient. Every atom of expensive noble metal feedstock used in our process goes into the deposited layer, rather than all over the surface of the deposition chamber and lift-off layer.