Sharma, Ashutosh and Gonuguntla, Manoj and Mukherjee, Rabibrata and Subramanian, Subash A and Pangule, Ravindra C (2007) Self-organized meso-patterning of soft solids by controlled adhesion: elastic contact lithography. Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology , 7 (6). pp. 1744-1752. ISSN 1533-4880

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Abstract

The surface of a soft elastic film becomes unstable and deforms when a rigid flat plate is brought into its contact proximity, without application of any external pressure. These isotropic undulations have a characteristic wavelength, lamda∼3H, where H is the film thickness. The wavelength is independent of the adhesive interactions and the mechanical properties of the film. We present here a mini-review of our recent work on techniques of aligning, modulating, and ordering the instability structures by the use of simple 1-D patterned stamps, by changing the stamp-surface separation, by slow shearing of a flat stamp and by confining the instability in soft narrow channels. The generality of the technique for different soft materials is illustrated by patterning cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), aluminum coated PDMS and hydrogels films. Use of a flexible stamp such as a metal foil provides enhanced conformal contact by adhesive forces, which aids large area patterning without critically maintaining a parallel configuration and uniform pressure between the stamp and the film. The technique has the potential to develop into a new soft lithography tool—“Elastic Contact Lithography” suitable for rapid, large area micron and sub-micron self-organized patterning of a variety of soft materials without any special equipments.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Basic Science
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
Depositing User:	Bidhan Chaudhuri
Date Deposited:	15 Mar 2012 11:45
Last Modified:	15 Mar 2012 11:45
URI:	http://cgcri.csircentral.net/id/eprint/1236

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