Laser Printing of Functional Materials

Chapter 2Origins of Laser-Induced Transfer Processes

Christina Kryou and Ioanna Zergioti

National Technical University of Athens, Physics Department, Heroon Polytehneiou 9, 15780 Zografou, Athens, Greece

2.1 Introduction

The development and use of laser-induced transfer processes have grown steadily over the past 20 years. Due to its simplicity, this technique is becoming widely used for deposition of a broad variety of materials for many microfabrication applications. This chapter describes the evolution of the laser forward-transfer method from the early 1970s, its historical origins, and presents some of the early achievements, until 2001 when the laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) technique was well stablished in the laser materials ...