Micro-optical foundry: 3D lithography by freezing liquid instabilities at nanoscale

S. Grilli; S. Coppola; V. Vespini; F. Merola; A. Finizio; P. Ferraro

doi:10.1117/12.923730

8 May 2012 Micro-optical foundry: 3D lithography by freezing liquid instabilities at nanoscale

S. Grilli, S. Coppola, V. Vespini, F. Merola, A. Finizio, P. Ferraro

Proceedings Volume 8428, Micro-Optics 2012; 84280L (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.923730
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2012, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract

The pyroelectric functionality of a Lithium Niobate (LN) substrate is used for non-contact manipulation of polymeric material. In this work we introduced a novel approach for fabricating a wide variety of soft solid-like microstructures, thus leading to a new concept in 3D lithography. A relatively easy to accomplish technique has been demonstrated for curing different transient stages of polymer fluids by rapid cross-linking of PDMS. The method is twofold innovative thanks to the electrode-less configuration and to the rapid formation of a wide variety of 3D solid-like structures by exploiting polymer instabilities. This new and unique technique is named "pyro-electrohydrodynamic (PEHD) lithography", meaning the generation of structures by using forces produced by electric fields generated by the pyroelectric effect. The fabrication of polymer wires, needles, pillars, cones, or microspheres is reported, and practical proofs of their use in photonics are presented.

Citation Download Citation

S. Grilli, S. Coppola, V. Vespini, F. Merola, A. Finizio, and P. Ferraro "Micro-optical foundry: 3D lithography by freezing liquid instabilities at nanoscale", Proc. SPIE 8428, Micro-Optics 2012, 84280L (8 May 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.923730

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