Frontier exploration of laser-assisted electrochemical deposition: from multidimensional optical-field control to multifunctional device integration

Laser-assisted electrochemical deposition (LAECD) integrates the spatiotemporal programmability of lasers with the interfacial selectivity of electrochemical processes, offering a promising route for micro/nanofabrication and functional device construction. Recent advances have demonstrated its potential in microelectrodes, interconnects, functional surfaces, and sensors. Nevertheless, current research remains largely confined to single-spot scanning and single-material systems, leading to bottlenecks in both processing throughput and system-level functionality. This review surveys frontier developments from two complementary perspectives: (i) optical-field dimensionality expansion—leveraging structured light, spatial light modulation, holography, and emerging sources to enable parallel deposition, complex 3D morphologies, and local reaction-field control; and (ii) material and functional dimensionality expansion—emphasizing in situ multi-material deposition, metal–nonmetal heterogeneous integration, and embedded device fabrication. Together, these perspectives delineate a pathway from “structure fabrication” toward “system manufacturing.” We further analyze key scientific and engineering challenges—including multi-physics coupling, material compatibility, precision–throughput trade-offs, in situ monitoring, and equipment standardization—and propose, for the first time, a roadmap toward an integrated “light–field–material–sensing–control” platform. This framework aims to transition LAECD from laboratory demonstrations into reproducible, scalable, and integrable manufacturing technologies.