Several strategies exist capable of fabricating microlenses for applications such as cameras and solar cells. Among them, techniques based on printing curable liquid prepolymers including inkjet and electrohydrodynamic‐jet printing, or laser‐induced forward‐transfer (LIFT) offer unique advantages in terms of ease of integration, cost, and compatibility with flexible substrates. However, the optical properties of the so‐fabricated microlenses depend on the wettability of the liquid prepolymer, preventing the broad implementation of printing technologies for micro‐optics. Herein, how printing microdroplets on top of reconfigurable substrates allows overcoming this issue is reported. The strategy, called print‐n‐release, is based on depositing prepolymer microdroplets on top of mechanically stretched elastomeric substrates. Once the stress applied to the substrate is released, and provided pinning of the contact line, the microdroplet's base diameter decreases producing an increase in contact angle and reduction in radius of curvature. Following a curing step, the microdroplets are converted into microlenses whose shape no longer depends exclusively on their wetting properties, but also on the substrate elongation. It is demonstrated that, by combining LIFT with substrates elongated up to 80%, microlenses can be fabricated with a 400% increase in contact angle and a 90% reduction in focal length, in good agreement with theoretical predictions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.