Surface patterning by an improved laser-induced forward transfer technique

A simple and inexpensive single-step technique for surface patterning in the micrometers regime is presented. As a result of a systematic study on laser-induced ablation and transfer of tungsten thin films it is shown that deposition of well adhering micrometer sized patterns of 100% coverage preserving the shape and dimensions of the laser processed area can be attained by single pulses of peak power up to 100 mW and 100 microsecond(s) - 1 ms duration from a diode laser pumped YAG laser.