Engineered biomimicry: polymeric replication of surface features found on insects

Drew P. Pulsifer; Akhlesh Lakhtakia; Raúl J. Martín-Palma; Carlo G. Pantano

doi:10.1117/12.876479

23 March 2011 Engineered biomimicry: polymeric replication of surface features found on insects

Drew P. Pulsifer, Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Raúl J. Martín-Palma, Carlo G. Pantano

Proceedings Volume 7975, Bioinspiration, Biomimetics, and Bioreplication; 79750O (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.876479
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

By combining the modified conformal-evaporated-film-by-rotation (M-CEFR) technique with nickel electroforming, we have produced master negatives of nonplanar biotemplates. An approximately 250-nm-thick conformal coating of nanocrystaline nickel is deposited on a surface structure of interest found in class Insecta, and the coating is then reinforced with a roughly 60-μm-thick structural layer of nickel by electroforming. This structural layer endows the M-CEFR coating with the mechanical robustness necessary for casting or stamping multiple polymer replicas of the biotemplate. We have made master negatives of blowfly corneas, beetle elytrons, and butterfly wings.

Citation Download Citation

Drew P. Pulsifer, Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Raúl J. Martín-Palma, and Carlo G. Pantano "Engineered biomimicry: polymeric replication of surface features found on insects", Proc. SPIE 7975, Bioinspiration, Biomimetics, and Bioreplication, 79750O (23 March 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.876479

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