Page 19 - Spring 2024

BREAKTHROUGH IN

NANOSCALE METAL PRINTING

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of focused, which is a critical factor when it comes
Technology have developed a light-based to ensuring that there are minimal defects in final
approach for printing metal at the nanoscale, nanostructures.
a domain that is considered crucial for
advancements, notably in electronics and A specially formulated clear ink solution
sensor technology. composed of metal salt and specific chemicals
is used to absorb light, and when exposed to light
The method uses nanopatterning, which allows for from the projection system it produces a chemical
the creation of unique structures with exceptional reaction that transforms the salt solution into
functions. In the past nanopatterning has metal. The metal then adheres to the glass surface
necessitated the use of high-intensity light sources aggregating to form the desired nanostructures.
in the form of femtosecond lasers, but at a cost of
This method allows for the printing of whole
around $500,000 these have been too expensive
structures in a single step, unlike the point-by-
for many research laboratories and small-
point method used in conventional systems, and
scale enterprises, making it difficult to transition
has been shown to be 480 times faster and 35
nanotechnology from academic settings to
times more cost effective.
practical real-world applications.
Now, pioneering application of superluminescent Reference: McCann, K., ‘Georgia Tech create 480 times faster
light-emitting diodes, or SLEDs, has enabled Nanoscale Metal Printing Method’, Electronic Specifier, 22nd.
the development of an original projection-style January
printing technology which converts digital images
to optical images that can then be displayed on a
glass surface. The key innovation lies in the ability
of the system to produce images that are sharply

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