High precision patterning of ITO using femtosecond laser annealing process

High precision patterning of crystalline indium tin oxide (c-ITO) patterns on amorphous ITO (a-ITO) thin films by femtosecond laser-induced crystallization with a Gaussian beam profile followed by chemical etching is demonstrated. In the proposed approach, the a-ITO thin film is selectively transformed into a c-ITO structure via a low heat affect zone and the well-defined thresholds (ablation and crystallization) supplied by the femtosecond laser pulse. The experimental results show that by careful control of the laser fluence above the crystallization threshold, c-ITO patterns with controllable line widths and ridge-free characteristics can be accomplished. By careful control of the laser fluence above the ablation threshold, fast fabrication of the two parallel sub-micro c-ITO line patterns using a single femtosecond laser beam and single scanning path can be achieved. Along-length sub-micro c-ITO line pattern is fabricated, and the feasibility of fabricating c-ITO patterns is confirmed, which are expected to be used in micro-electronics devices. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.