As an alternative approach to the conventional deposition and photolithographic processes, the laser digital patterning (LDP) process, which is also known as the laser direct writing process, has attracted considerable attention because it is a non-photolithographic, non-vacuum, on-demand, and cost-effective electrode fabrication route that can be applied to various substrates, including heat-sensitive flexible substrates. The LDP process was initially developed using noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) such as Au and Ag because such materials are free from oxidation even in a nanosize configuration. Thus, the NPs must be fused together to form continuous conductive structures upon laser irradiation. However, common metals are easily oxidized at the nanoscale and exist in oxidized forms owing to the extremely large surface-to-volume ratio of NPs. Therefore, to fabricate conductive electrodes using common metal NPs via the LDP process, laser irradiation should be used to sinter the NPs and simultaneously induce additional photochemical reactions, such as reduction, and defect structure modification to increase the conductivity of the electrodes. This review summarizes recent studies on the LDP process in which metal oxide NPs, such as ITO, ZnO, CuO, and NiO, were exclusively utilized for fabricating conductive electrodes. The outlook of the LDP process for these materials is also discussed as a method that can be used together with or as a replacement for conventional ones to produce next-generation transparent conductors, sensors, and electronics.

中文翻译：

---

使用金属氧化物纳米材料对导电电极进行激光数字图案化。

作为传统沉积和光刻工艺的替代方法，激光数字图案化（LDP）工艺也称为激光直写工艺，由于它是一种非光刻、非真空、on-需求和具有成本效益的电极制造路线，可应用于各种基板，包括热敏柔性基板。LDP 工艺最初是使用金和银等贵金属纳米颗粒 (NP) 开发的，因为此类材料即使在纳米尺寸的配置下也不会氧化。因此，纳米粒子必须在激光照射下熔合在一起以形成连续的导电结构。然而，由于纳米粒子的表面积与体积比极大，普通金属在纳米尺度上很容易被氧化，并以氧化形式存在。因此，要通过LDP工艺使用普通金属纳米粒子制造导电电极，应使用激光照射来烧结纳米粒子，并同时诱导额外的光化学反应，例如还原和缺陷结构修饰，以提高电极的导电性。这篇综述总结了最近关于LDP工艺的研究，其中金属氧化物纳米颗粒，如ITO、ZnO、CuO和NiO，专门用于制造导电电极。还讨论了这些材料的 LDP 工艺的前景，作为一种可以与传统工艺一起使用或替代传统工艺来生产下一代透明导体、传感器和电子产品的方法。