In-process sintering of Au nanoparticles deposited in laser-assisted electrophoretic deposition

In this study, we developed an in-process sintering method for laser-assisted electrophoretic deposition (LAEPD) using an additional laser to sinter Au particles and improve the Young's modulus of the microstructures fabricated using LAEPD. Thus, in addition to the laser (λ = 488 nm) that traps nanoparticles, another laser (λ = 785 nm) was installed to effectively absorb and sinter the deposited nanoparticles. Deposition was performed via LAEPD and laser sintering alternatively during fabrication. A Young's modulus of 28.2 GPa was achieved for the Au pillar fabricated with a sintering laser irradiation time of 1000 ms/cycle.