Nanodroplets deposited in microarrays by femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser-induced forward transfer

The authors present the deposition of nanoscale droplets of Cr using femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser-induced forward transfer. Deposits around 300 nm in diameter, significantly smaller than any previously reported, are obtained from a 30 nm thick source film. Deposit size, morphology, and adhesion to a receiver substrate as functions of applied laser fluence are investigated. The authors show that deposits can be obtained from previously irradiated areas of the source material film with negligible loss of deposition quality, allowing subspot size period microarrays to be produced without the need to move the source film. (C) 2006 American Institute of Physics.