Damage-free dry transfer printing of ultrathin films with on-demand interfacial adhesion: principles and applications

Transfer printing, a foundational manufacturing route for integrating heterogeneous materials onto diverse substrates, holds great promise for applications in flexible electronics, emerging displays, and soft robotics. As applications grow more complex, the quality of ultrathin films integrated onto applicable substrates, initially fabricated on rigid substrates by spin-coating, physical vapor deposition, or chemical vapor deposition [e.g., photoresists, metals, two-dimensional (2D) materials] with thicknesses below 10 μm, becomes critical to the performance of advanced devices, including flexible/curved electronics and 2D films-based electronics. However, achieving damage-free transfer printing of ultrathin films requires resolving the trade-off in traditional methods between interfacial fracture and in-plane film damage. Herein, this review elucidates the principles underlying damage-free transfer printing of ultrathin films, highlights recent innovations that enable on-demand control of interfacial adhesion during the process, and summarizes typical applications based on transferred damage-free films. Finally, we provide perspectives on the remaining challenges and future developments needed to enable industrial-scale manufacturing and inspire continued innovation.