Demonstration of Micro-transfer Printing Thick Optical Components on Glass and Silicon Wafers

Micro-transfer printing has emerged as a promising technique for the wafer-scale assembly of photonic and electronic devices. However, conventional methods face challenges when dealing with thick components (>250 µm) due to the limitations of tether-based approaches. In this study, we present a novel tether-less micro-transfer printing approach enabled by UV-curable dicing tape, demonstrating the successful printing of thick optical components (>300 µm) on both silicon and glass wafers. The optimization of pick-up and printing process parameters for the successful printing of coupons is discussed. The shear strength of printed coupons on 2 µm InterVia coated wafers is investigated and surface roughness is analyzed. As a result, micro-optics as thick as 1000 µm were successfully printed. The shear strength of printed coupons varied from 11–19 MPa which is comparable to and higher than a few optical epoxies. The overall process of µTP has no further effect on microstructure and surface roughness, no delamination was found in SEM images.