Laser-direct-writing processes: Metal deposition, etching, and applications to microcircuits

Abstract

The laser-directed discretionary deposition of metal films broadens the scope of electronics fabrication and provides new capabilities for building and restructuring microelectronic devices. When such depositions are combined with local laser-guided etching processes, multilevel modifications are enabled. This mode of processing allows the modification of individual circuits on a micrometer scale, as well as permitting the interconnection of larger circuits composed of multiple devices, both on a single substrate (‘‘wafer-scale’’ integration) and in multichip hybrid configurations. In this paper, recent advances in the interconnect deposition processes useful for these applications are described, as well as some principal demonstrations on functioning circuits.