Issue 10, 2011
From the journal:

Lab on a Chip

Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio polymer microstructures and hierarchical textures using carbon nanotube composite master molds†

Davor Copic,a   Sei Jin Park,a   Sameh Tawfick,a   Michael F. L. De Volderabc  and  A. John Hart*a  

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2350 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
E-mail: ajohnh@umich.edu
Tel: +1 734 615 6146

b IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, Heverlee, Belgium

c KULeuven, Celestijnenlaan 300B, Leuven, Belgium

Abstract

Scalable and cost effective patterning of polymer structures and their surface textures is essential to engineer material properties such as liquid wetting and dry adhesion, and to design artificial biological interfaces. Further, fabrication of high-aspect-ratio microstructures often requires controlled deep-etching methods or high-intensity exposure. We demonstrate that carbon nanotube (CNT) composites can be used as master molds for fabrication of high-aspect-ratio polymer microstructures having anisotropic nanoscale textures. The master molds are made by growth of vertically aligned CNT patterns, capillary densification of the CNTs using organic solvents, and capillary-driven infiltration of the CNT structures with SU-8. The composite master structures are then replicated in SU-8 using standard PDMS transfer molding methods. By this process, we fabricated a library of replicas including vertical micro-pillars, honeycomb lattices with sub-micron wall thickness and aspect ratios exceeding 50 : 1, and microwells with sloped sidewalls. This process enables batch manufacturing of polymer features that capture complex nanoscale shapes and textures, while requiring only optical lithography and conventional thermal processing.

Graphical abstract: Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio polymer microstructures and hierarchical textures using carbon nanotube composite master molds

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C0LC00724B
Article type
Technical Note
Submitted
25 Dec 2010
Accepted
02 Mar 2011
First published
30 Mar 2011

Lab Chip, 2011,11, 1831-1837

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Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio polymer microstructures and hierarchical textures using carbon nanotube composite master molds

D. Copic, S. J. Park, S. Tawfick, M. F. L. De Volder and A. J. Hart, Lab Chip, 2011, 11, 1831 DOI: 10.1039/C0LC00724B

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