Direct Patterning of Aluminum Thin Films on TiO2-Coated Si Substrates by Using Metal Transfer Printing

Abstract

We report a new method for contact printing of Al patterns on Si substrates with a TiO2 layer. Metal transfer printing relies on the transfer of a metallic ink from the structured surface of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamp to a substrate. The Al thin films were deposited on a PDMS stamp coated with the self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of octadecyltrichlorosilane(OTS).The OTS-SAMs can act as a release layer to help the transfer of the Al ink from the stamp. Contacting this stamp to the Si substrate coated with a TiO2 layer, which can act as an adhesion layer to promote the adhesive bonding if the Al metal. The patterned Al thin films have been characterized by atomic force microscopy(AFM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), Optical microscopy.