We report a simple, rapid, room temperature, pressure-less and large area (approximately cm2) imprinting technique for high fidelity patterning of soft solid polymer films and surfaces like cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyacrylamide (PAA) based hydrogels, both on planar and curved surfaces. The key element of the method is the use of patterned thin flexible foils that readily and rapidly attain a conformal contact with soft (shear modulus < 0.1 MPa) solid surfaces because of adhesive interfacial interactions. The conformal contact is established at all length scales by bending of the foil at scales larger than the feature size, in conjunction with the spontaneous elastic deformations of the surface on the scale of the features. For example, we used the protective aluminum foils of commercial data storage discs, both with or without data stored, for micron and sub-micron pattern transfer. The patterns are made permanent by UV-ozone treatment (for PDMS) or by controlled drying (for hydrogels). Interestingly, elastic contact imprinting of very thin (< 300 nm) films results in about 50% miniaturization of the original foil feature sizes. Complex two dimensional patterns could also be formed even by using a simple one dimensional master by multiple imprinting. The technique can be particularly useful for the bulk nano applications requiring routine fabrication of templates, for example, in the study of confined chemistry phenomena, nanofluidics, bio-MEMS, micro-imprinting, optical coatings and controlled dewetting.
We report a simple yet robust and reproducible technique to create surface patterns with submicrometer scale resolution on polymer films coated on nonplanar and curved surfaces at room temperature, without applying any external pressure. The imprinting is achieved by using a flexible, patterned polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) stamp in a controlled solvent vapor atmosphere, where the patterned foil comes in adhesive contact with a swollen and softened polymer film. The stamp bends along the contours of the curved surface to make a complete contact with a soft and swollen viscoelastic polymer film to make an imprint. The soft surface of the film then deforms on the length scale of each structure on the stamp to make a conformal contact, forming a negative replica of the stamp pattern on the film surface. The flexible PVA stamp is later dissolved in water after the patterning process is complete. It is shown that the technique is portable across a variety of polymer coatings, substrates, and geometries. Further, we also show that the same technique can be employed to create complex 2-D microstructures on nonplanar surfaces by multiple imprintings.
This is a brief review of our recent and ongoing work on simple, rapid, room temperature, pressure-less and large area (~ cm 2 ) imprinting techniques for high fidelity meso-patterning of different types of polymer films. Examples include soft solid polymer films and surfaces like cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyacrylamide (PAA) based hydrogels, thermoplastics like polystyrene (PS), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) etc both on planar and curved surfaces. These techniques address two key issues in imprinting: (i) attainment of large area conformal contact with the stamp, especially on curved surfaces, and (ii) ease of stamp detachment without damage to the imprinted structures. The key element of the method is the use of thin and flexible patterned foils that readily and rapidly come into complete conformal contact with soft polymer surfaces because of adhesive interfacial interactions. The conformal contact is established at all length scales by bending of the foil at scales larger than the feature size, in conjunction with the spontaneous deformations of the film surface on the scale of the features. Complex two-dimensional patterns could also be formed even by using a simple one-dimensional master by multiple imprinting. The technique can be particularly useful for the bulk nano applications requiring routine fabrication of templates, for example, in the study of confined chemistry phenomena, nanofluidics, bio-MEMS, micro-imprinting, optical coatings and controlled dewetting.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.