Article,
Photopatternable Superhydrophobic Nanocomposites for Microfabrication
Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 19 (2): 246--253 (2010)
DOI: 10.1109/jmems.2010.2041189
Abstract
In this paper, we first report on direct-photolithography-based microfabrication of transparent superhydrophobic micropatterns using novel photodefinable nanocomposites, combining the nanomorphology and hydrophobicity of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nanoparticles and the photopatternability and transparency of an SU-8 photoresist using both direct-mixing and coating-immobilization methods. The direct mixture of PTFE–SU-8 nanocomposite can be reliably spin-coated and photopatterned onto transparent substrates (e.g., glass or polymers) with a minimal feature resolution of 50 \$muhboxm\$ . The resulting nanocomposite film possesses a contact angle of water at 150 \$^circ\$ , although its optical transparency is less than 30\%. Furthermore, a modified coating-immobilization approach, employing spray coating and thermal immobilization of PTFE nanoparticles onto an SU-8 polymer matrix, significantly enhances superhydrophobicity, lithography resolution, as well as optical transparency. The highest optical transparency of 80\% and a minimal feature resolution of 10 \$muhboxm\$ have been achieved using the standard photolithography approach, while the contact angle of water above 165 \$^circ\$ enables extraordinary superhydrophobicity with low hysteresis. The novel PTFE–SU-8 nanocomposites provide a unique combination of superhydrophobicity, optical transparency, and photopatternability, along with excellent adaptability and simple processability, which offer great extension to rapidly evolving micro–nanoengineering applications. \$hfill\$ 2009-0224
