Science underpinning the quality of transfer printing

摘要

Transfer printing is a nanofabrication technique that involves an assembly process by which a printable layer can be transferred from a transfer substrate to a device substrate. It emerges as a potential fabrication technique to enable a low-cost and scalable roll-to-roll printing process of flexible devices [1,2], such as paper-like displays, skin-like smart prosthesis and printable thin film solar cells. Although transfer printing has been demonstrated in a wide range of material systems, the quality control of transfer printing has been mainly explored via massive experimental trials, which are both time-consuming and cost-prohibitive, and thus lead to limited understanding. In this paper, we aim to reveal the mechanisms that underpin the quality of transfer printing via a comprehensive computational modeling. The outcome of this study is a quality map of transfer printing, which can offer vital guidance for the structural design, defect control and materials selection of flexible devices to be fabricated via transfer printing.