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Surface tension-induced PDMS micro-pillars with controllable tips and tilt angles

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Abstract

This paper reports a novel method to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micro-pillars using a CO2 laser-machined poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) mold with through-holes. This method eliminates the requirements of expensive and complicated facilities to fabricate a 3D mold. The micro-pillars were formed by the capillary force that draws PDMS into the through-holes of the PMMA mold. The tilt angles of the micro-pillars depend on the tilt angles of the through-holes in the mold, and the concave and convex micro-lens tip shapes of the PDMS micro-pillars can be modified by changing the surface wettability of the PMMA through-holes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electromechanical Microsystems and Polymer Integration Research (EMPIRe) Group, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering Division (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Huawei Li, Yiqiang Fan, David Conchouso & Ian G. Foulds

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  1. Huawei Li
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  2. Yiqiang Fan
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  3. David Conchouso
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  4. Ian G. Foulds
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Correspondence to Huawei Li.

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Li, H., Fan, Y., Conchouso, D. et al. Surface tension-induced PDMS micro-pillars with controllable tips and tilt angles. Microsyst Technol 21, 445–449 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-013-2031-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-013-2031-5

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