Linewidth reduction laser thermal-transferred carbon nanotube wirings on plastic film by heat propagation suppressing

Abstract We have developed a technique to decrease the linewidth of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) wirings on the surface of a plastic film fabricated using the laser thermal transfer method. In this method, the MWNT film deposited on a polyethylene (PE) film was irradiated with laser light, resulting in the intermixing of MWNT and PE at the interface. To control the linewidth, the heat propagation in the MWNT film was suppressed by decreasing the laser spot size and the specimen temperature. The minimum wiring width was approximately 90 μ m. Furthermore, the linewidth could be reduced without increasing resistivity by suppressing the heat propagation. Simulation results showed our proposed methods caused different heat propagation and different temperatures at the center region of the MWNT/PE film. Experimental and simulation results suggest that suppressing heat propagation in the MWNT/PE film was effective. This method could be utilized for the miniaturization of carbon devices.