Stamping Lithography on Arbitrary Surfaces based on Self‐Assembly of Colloidal Particles

TL;DR

A new method called Stamping Lithography is introduced to create 3D circuits on curved surfaces using self-assembled particles, offering a practical alternative to traditional planar techniques.

Contribution

The novel Stamping Lithography method enables efficient fabrication of 3D circuits on arbitrary surfaces using self-assembly and etching.

Findings

Stamping Lithography allows circuit fabrication on non-developable surfaces like hemispheres.

The method uses self-assembled colloidal particles instead of photoresist and exposure processes.

It offers a scalable and material-flexible approach for 3D electronics.

Abstract

Three‐dimensional (3D) circuits on curved surfaces have been widely used in conformal antennas, intelligent skins, metasurfaces, and bionic electronics. Traditional planar circuit technologies represented by photolithography are confronted with the problem of being difficult to apply to curved surfaces. To solve this problem, transfer printing technology uses planar stamps to transfer devices onto curved surfaces fabricated by photolithography, but faces the problem of over‐stretching when adapting to non‐developable surfaces. Meanwhile, in‐situ additive manufacturing technologies on curved surfaces, such as inkjet printing and laser direct writing, have low manufacturing efficiency, and the available materials are minimal. Herein, this paper proposes a new method called Stamping Lithography, which comprises a resist mask stamping process based on self‐assembly of colloidal particles (RSSA) and a subsequent etching process similar to those used in planar circuit technologies, making it possible to fabricate circuits using various materials on large‐area non‐developable surfaces. By fabricating circuits on hemispherical substrates, this approach demonstrates the potential of non‐developable surfaces. This work presents a practical strategy for the fabrication of 3D electronics on arbitrary surfaces, which can serve as a complementary technology to photolithography in the planar circuit industry.

A new method called Stamping Lithography for three‐dimensional (3D) circuits manufacturing is proposed, which comprises a resist mask stamping process based on self‐assembly of colloidal particles and a subsequent etching process. It replaces the photoresist with self‐assembled particles and the exposure process with stamping, making it feasible to operate on arbitrary surfaces without the need for sophisticated equipment.

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