Blister-Based Laser-Induced Forward Transfer of Luminescent Diamond Nanoparticles

The possibility of laser printing of luminescent diamond nanoparticles via a blister-based laser-induced forward transfer technique is demonstrated. For this purpose, a donor substrate consisting of a transparent sapphire wafer and an absorbing thin titanium film (250 and 550 nm thick) coated with nanoparticles is exposed to the radiation of an ArF excimer laser (lambda = 193 nm,tau = 20 ns). Under the optimized thickness of titanium layer and laser fluence, the ejection of nanoparticles from the donor substrate is caused by the blistering of the metal film without its rupture. The luminescence mapping of the donor and acceptor substrates has proved the transfer of luminescent diamond nanoparticles with the same intensity of the signal. Features and prospects of the proposed technique are discussed.