Abstract
This paper reports a novel method for highly controllable local patterning of a hydrogel on microcantilevers. We constructed a dynamic mask lithography setup based on a commercial beam projector and a 3-axis microstage. Dynamic masks generated from the beam projector controlled the shape, size, and position of hydrogel patterns while the 3-axis microstage mainly controlled the thickness of hydrogel patterns. Using the constructed setup, polyethyleneglycol diacrylate (PEGDA) was patterned on microfabricated cantilevers in a highly controlled manner. Currently, the smallest PEGDA patternable is a 5-μm-diameter circle with a thickness of ∼10 μm. To confirm thicknesses of patterned PEGDAs, resonance frequencies of microcantilevers were measured before and after each PEGDA patterning. Thicknesses extracted from resonance measurements showed good agreement with measurements using an optical microscope.
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Il Lee received his B.S. degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sogang University in 2012. He is currently working towards M.S. in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sogang University. His research interests include MEMS fabrication and characterization.
Jungchul Lee received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in the Department of Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea in 2001 and 2003, respectively. He received the Ph.D. degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2007. His dissertation was “Fabrication, Characterization, and Application of Multifunctional Microcantilever Heaters.” During 2007–2008, he worked as a postdoctoral research associate in mechanical science and engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. After spending 2 years (2008–2010) in the Department of Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral research associate, he is now on the faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sogang University, Seoul, Korea.
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Lee, I., Lee, J. Highly uniform and controllable micropatterning of a hydrogel on microcantilevers. J Mech Sci Technol 27, 3439–3444 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-013-0867-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-013-0867-3