Femtosecond pulsed laser patterning of poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) thin films on gold/palladium substrates

Femtosecond pulsed laser damage studies were performed on poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT-PSS) films of varying thickness on Au/Pd substrates. The femtosecond laser induced damage thresholds of the PEDOT-PSS films were determined (0.007-0.03 J/cm(2)) and were found to behave similarly to metallic conductors as a function of film thickness. Femtosecond laser patterning of the PEDOT-PSS films was also performed, with minimum wire widths of 1.4 mu m produced at speeds of 1 mm/s. Discrete removal of the PEDOT-PSS films from the underlying substrate was also demonstrated, with the film cleared down to the depth of the substrate in linear channels as narrow as 4 mu m while maintaining the integrity of the substrate. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.