Abstract
An increasing number of technologies require large-scale integration of disparate classes of separately fabricated objects into spatially organized, functional systems1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Here we introduce an approach for heterogeneous integration based on kinetically controlled switching between adhesion and release of solid objects to and from an elastomeric stamp. We describe the physics of soft adhesion that govern this process and demonstrate the method by printing objects with a wide range of sizes and shapes, made of single-crystal silicon and GaN, mica, highly ordered pyrolytic graphite, silica and pollen, onto a variety of substrates without specially designed surface chemistries or separate adhesive layers. Printed p–n junctions and photodiodes fixed directly on highly curved surfaces illustrate some unique device-level capabilities of this approach.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Georgakilas, A. et al. Wafer-scale integration of GaAs optoelectronic devices with standard Si integrated circuits using a low-temperature bonding procedure. Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 5099–5101 (2002).
Yeh, H.-J. J. & Smith, J. S. Fluidic self-assembly for the integration of GaAs light-emitting diodes on Si substrates. IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 6, 706–708 (1994).
Ambrosy, A., Richter, H., Hehmann, J. & Ferling, D. Silicon motherboards for multichannel optical modules. IEEE Trans. Compon. Pack. A 19, 34–40 (1996).
Lambacher, A. et al. Electrical imaging of neuronal activity by multi-transistor-array (MTA) recording at 7.8 μm resolution. Appl. Phys. A 79, 1607–1611 (2004).
Menard, E., Lee, K. J., Khang, D.-Y., Nuzzo, R. G. & Rogers, J. A. A printable form of silicon for high performance thin film transistors on plastic substrates. Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 5398–5400 (2004).
Zhu, Z.-T., Menard, E., Hurley, K., Nuzzo, R. G. & Rogers, J. A. Spin on dopants for high-performance single-crystal silicon transistors on flexible plastic substrates. Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 133507 (2005).
Sun, Y. & Rogers, J. A. Fabricating semiconductor nano/microwires and transfer printing ordered arrays of them onto plastic substrates. Nano Lett. 4, 1953–1959 (2004).
Jacobs, H. O., Tao, A. R., Schwartz, A., Gracias, D. H. & Whitesides, G. M. Fabrication of a cylindrical display by patterned assembly. Science 296, 323–325 (2002).
Reuss, R. H. et al. Macroelectronics: Perspectives on technology and applications. Proc. IEEE 93, 1239–1256 (2005).
Haisma, J. & Spierings, G. A. C. M. Contact bonding, including direct-bonding in a historical and recent context of materials science and technology, physics and chemistry—historical review in a broader scope and comparative outlook. Mater. Sci. Eng. R 37, 1–60 (2002).
Zheng, W. & Jacobs, H. O. Shape-and solder-directed self-assembly to package semiconductor device segments. Appl. Phys. Lett. 85, 3635–3637 (2004).
Bowden, N., Terfort, A., Carbeck, J. & Whitesides, G. M. Self-assembly of mesoscale objects into ordered two-dimensional arrays. Science 276, 233–235 (1997).
O’Riordan, A., Delaney, P. & Redmond, G. Field configured assembly: programmed manipulation and self-assembly at the mesoscale. Nano Lett. 4, 761–765 (2004).
Tanase, M. et al. Magnetic trapping and self-assembly of multicomponent nanowires. J. Appl. Phys. 91, 8549–8551 (2002).
Hsia, K. J. et al. Collapse of stamps for soft lithography due to interfacial adhesion. Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 154106 (2005).
Huang, Y. Y. et al. Stamp collapse in soft lithography. Langmuir 21, 8058–8068 (2005).
Roberts, A. D. Looking at rubber adhesion. Rubber Chem. Technol. 52, 23–42 (1979).
Barquins, M. Adherence, friction and wear of rubber-like materials. Wear 158, 87–117 (1992).
Shull, K. R., Ahn, D., Chen, W.-L., Flanigan, C. M. & Crosby, A. J. Axisymmetric adhesion tests of soft materials. Macromol. Chem. Phys. 199, 489–511 (1998).
Brown, H. R. The adhesion between polymers. Annu. Rev. Mater. Sci. 21, 463–489 (1991).
Deruelle, M., Léger, L. & Tirrell, M. Adhesion at the solid-elastomer interface: influence of interfacial chains. Macromolecules 28, 7419–7428 (1995).
Hutchinson, J. W. & Suo, Z. Mixed mode cracking in layered materials. Adv. Appl. Mech. 29, 63–191 (1992).
Lee, K. J. et al. Large-area, selective transfer of microstructured silicon (μs-Si): a printing-based approach to high-performance thin-film transistors supported on flexible substrates. Adv. Mater. 17, 2332–2336 (2005).
Aoki, K. et al. Microassembly of semiconductor three dimensional photonic crystals. Nature Mater. 2, 117–121 (2003).
Noda, S., Yamamoto, N. & Sasaki, A. New realization method for three-dimensional photonic crystal in optical wavelength region. Jpn J. Appl. Phys. 35, L909–L912 (1996).
Horn, R. G. & Smith, D. T. Contact electrification and adhesion between dissimilar materials. Science 256, 362–364 (1992).
Rogers, J. A., Paul, K. E., Jackman, R. J. & Whitesides, G. M. Using an elastomeric phase mask for sub-100 nm photolithography in the optical near field. Appl. Phys. Lett. 70, 2658–2660 (1997).
Acknowledgements
The authors thank A. Shim for helpful discussions, A. Jerez for help generating schematic cartoons, J. Rinne for supplying silica microspheres, J. Lyding for the use of his AFM, and C. J. Hubert for the use of her African Violets. This work was supported by DARPA-funded AFRL-managed Macroelectronics Program Contract FA8650-04-C-7101, the US Department of Energy under grant DEFG02-91-ER45439, the National Science Foundation under grant DMII-0328162, and a graduate fellowship from the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Meitl, M., Zhu, ZT., Kumar, V. et al. Transfer printing by kinetic control of adhesion to an elastomeric stamp. Nature Mater 5, 33–38 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1532
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1532
This article is cited by
-
Finite Element Analysis of Adhesive Contact Behaviors in Elastoplastic and Viscoelastic Media
Tribology Letters (2024)
-
Recent Advances in Patterning Strategies for Full-Color Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes
Nano-Micro Letters (2024)
-
High-fidelity and clean nanotransfer lithography using structure-embedded and electrostatic-adhesive carriers
Microsystems & Nanoengineering (2023)
-
A soft, high-density neuroelectronic array
npj Flexible Electronics (2023)
-
Fluidic self-assembly for MicroLED displays by controlled viscosity
Nature (2023)