Formation of conductive copper lines by femtosecond laser irradiation of copper nitride film on plastic substrates

摘要

In this paper, we report a simple method to form conductive copper lines by scanning a single-beam femtosecond pulse laser on a plastic substrate covered with copper nitride (Cu_3N) film. The Cu_3N films were prepared by DC magnetron sputtering in the presence of an Ar+N_2 atmosphere at 100℃. The influence of the laser power and scanning speed on the formed copper line width, surface features, and morphology was analyzed by means of optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, non-contact 3D profilometer, and scanning electron microscopy. The experimental results demonstrate that low laser power and low scanning speed favor the formation of uniform and flat Cu lines. After process optimization, copper lines with a width less than 5μm were obtained, which provides an attractive application prospect in the field of flexible electronic devices.