Material Characterization and Transfer of Large-Area Ultra-Thin Polydimethylsiloxane Membranes

Gao, Jinsheng; Guo, Dongzhi; Santhanam, Suresh; Fedder, Gary K.

doi:10.1109/jmems.2015.2480388

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…49 For example, a large stroke polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based micro-pump with an embedded 200 nm Cr/Al/Cr stack of 2 mm diameter and 56 μm thickness is strained approximately 0.7% at full stroke. 50 The challenges faced by such membranes include non-reversible changes in resistance in the presence of varying strain, temperature, humidity and chemical environment. 51 Additional challenges arise from stiffening of the membrane and out-of-plane stress and hysteresis due to metal film deposition onto the polymer.…”

Section: Application Of a Graphene-polymer Heterostructure Membranementioning

confidence: 99%

Ultra-thin graphene–polymer heterostructure membranes

2016

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The fabrication of arrays of ultra-thin conductive membranes remains a major challenge in realising large-scale micro/nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS), since processing-stress and stiction issues limit the precision and yield in assembling suspended structures. We present the fabrication and mechanical characterisation of a suspended graphene-polymer heterostructure membrane that aims to tackle the prevailing challenge of constructing high yield membranes with minimal compromise to the mechanical properties of graphene. The fabrication method enables suspended membrane structures that can be multiplexed over wafer-scales with 100% yield. We apply a micro-blister inflation technique to measure the in-plane elastic modulus of pure graphene and of heterostructure membranes with a thickness of 18 nm to 235 nm, which ranges from the 2-dimensional (2d) modulus of bare graphene at 173 ± 55 N m to the bulk elastic modulus of the polymer (Parylene-C) as 3.6 ± 0.5 GPa as a function of film thickness. Different ratios of graphene to polymer thickness yield different deflection mechanisms and adhesion and delamination effects which are consistent with the transition from a membrane to a plate model. This system reveals the ability to precisely tune the mechanical properties of ultra-thin conductive membranes according to their applications.

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Section: Application Of a Graphene-polymer Heterostructure Membranementioning

confidence: 99%

Ultra-thin graphene–polymer heterostructure membranes

2016

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“…Once both parts A and B are mixed together, the polymer undergoes crosslinking and cures in 48 h with full mechanical properties being demonstrated after a week [ 13 ]. Although the standard mixing ratio of 10:1 resin to hardener produces a material that exhibits hyperelasticity, high surface adhesion, and low Young’s modulus, these properties can be altered for a variety of applications by increasing or decreasing the mixing ratio [ 13 , 14 ]. In addition to altering the mixing ratio, many complementary products exist for changing viscosity and curing times [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Thermal Aging of Modified Sylgard 184 Formulations

et al. 2021

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Primarily used as an encapsulant and soft adhesive, Sylgard 184 is an engineered, high-performance silicone polymer that has applications spanning microfluidics, microelectromechanical systems, mechanobiology, and protecting electronic and non-electronic devices and equipment. Despite its ubiquity, there are improvements to be considered, namely, decreasing its gel point at room temperature, understanding volatile gas products upon aging, and determining how material properties change over its lifespan. In this work, these aspects were investigated by incorporating well-defined compounds (the Ashby–Karstedt catalyst and tetrakis (dimethylsiloxy) silane) into Sylgard 184 to make modified formulations. As a result of these additions, the curing time at room temperature was accelerated, which allowed for Sylgard 184 to be useful within a much shorter time frame. Additionally, long-term thermal accelerated aging was performed on Sylgard 184 and its modifications in order to create predictive lifetime models for its volatile gas generation and material properties.

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“…Upon etching the thin PDMS film covered on the flat-top of the PR columns, the holes were opened after an etching time of 15 s. By increasing the etching time, membranes with a thickness of 600 ± 20 nm were obtained after an etching time of 60 s. At a thickness less than 1 μm, the effective Young's modulus of PDMS has been reported to significantly increase to approximately 8 MPa, which is ten times higher than that of a PDMS layer of 0.5 mm thickness. 36 This effective Young's modulus of a sub-μm PDMS is comparable to that of a tissue culture plastic (TCP) substrate, i.e. ∼10 MPa.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Future work with this setup will allow us to further characterize the mechanical properties, permeability and transport selectivity of the membrane. 36 In addition, the effect of our membrane on the co-cultures of multiple cell types on the opposite sides of the membrane can be investigated. 38 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%