Process of Making Components for Electronic and Optical Devices Using Laser …
US20260233337A1
Abstract
The present invention relates to processes of making components for electronic and optical devices using laser processing and devices comprising such components. Such process uses a laser to introduce chemical and/or structural changes in substrates and films that are the raw materials from which components for electronic and optical devices are made. Such process yields components that can have one or more electronic and/or optical functionalities that are integrated on the same substrate or film. In addition, such process does not require large-scale clean rooms and is easily configurable. Thus, rapid device prototyping, design change and evolution in the lab and on the production side is realized.
Description (excerpt)
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/216,729 filed Mar. 30, 2021, which in turn claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/001,604 filed Mar. 30, 2020, the contents of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/216,729 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/001,604 hereby incorporated by reference in its entry. RIGHTS OF THE GOVERNMENT The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States for all governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to processes of making components for electronic and optical devices using laser processing and devices comprising such components. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Device elements (e.g. resistors, capacitors, diodes, sensors, MOSFETs and bipolar junction transistors) within circuits rely on controlling the electron transport within three basic building blocks of electronic materials: insulators, conductors, and semiconductors. It is only through the precise and tedious integration of these three subsets of materials that we realize electronics, as we know them today. Current methods of making components for electronic and optical devices require large-scale clean rooms and are not easily reconfigurable. As a result, rapid device prototyping, design change and evolution is not only difficult in the lab but also prohibitive on the production side. As a result, industry has looked to additive manufacturing processes for a solution. Unfortunately, reproducibility, ink stability, and material limitations remain as barriers to an additive manufacturing solution. In addition to the aforementioned problems, current methods of making components for electronic and optical devices are limited to producing primarily single function components that are later assembled with other components to yield the desired electronic and/or optical functionality. Thus, what is needed is an efficient, easily reconfigurable process of making components for electronic and optical devices that not only can yield single function components but also can yield components with multiple functions that are integrated on the same substrate or film. Applicants recognized that lasers could not only be used to remove material from substrates and films but could also be used to induce chemical and/or structural changes in substrates and films with distinct electronic properties. Such recognition led Applicants to develop a process of making components for electronic and optical devices, devices that can have one or more electronic and/or optical functionalities. Such process employs localization of such material transformations, thereby allowing added flexibility in performing steps for device processing, such as application and patterning of electrical contacts prior to application of active electronic material. Importantly, Applicants process can be used to make structural and/or chemical changes within a film or other article that results in an electrical component, an optical component or a combined electrical and optical component being created in such film or article. Such process does not require large-scale clean rooms and is easily configurable. Thus, rapid device prototyping, design change and evolution in the lab and on the production side are realized. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to processes of making components for electronic and optical devices using laser processing and devices comprising such components. Such process uses a laser to introduce chemical and/or structural changes and/or removal of material through ablation or similar laser removal processes in substrates and films that are the raw materials from which components for electronic and optical devices are made. Such process yields components that can have one or more electronic and/or optical functionalities that are integrated on the same substrate or film. In addition, such process does not require large-scale clean rooms and is easily configurable. Thus, rapid device prototyping, design change and evolution in the lab and on the production side is realized. Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments
Filing details
- Inventors
- Nicholas R. Glavin
- Assignee
- Government Of The United States, As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air …
- Filed
- Mar 26, 2026
- Granted
- Application pending
Bibliographic data and excerpted text sourced from Google Patents (public record) as part of IP TechMatch's current-filings monitor. This filing is not part of the 2019 historical archive. For the authoritative full text, drawings, and legal status, see the source links above or consult USPTO records directly.