Fabrication of a roller type PDMS stamp using SU-8 concave molds and its application for roll contact printing

Abstract

Continuous fabrication of micropatterns at low-cost is attracting attention in various applications within industrial fields. To meet such demands, we have demonstrated a roll contact printing technique, using roller type polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamps with roll-to-flat and roll-to-roll stages. Roller type PDMS stamps for roll contact printing were fabricated using a custom-made metal support and SU-8 microstructures fabricated on concave substrates as a mold. The molding/casting method which we developed here provided faster and easier fabrication than conventional methods for roller type stamps. Next, roll contact printing was performed using fabricated roller type PDMS stamps with roll-to-flat and roll-toroll stages. Patterns with minimum widths of 3 μm and 2.1 μm were continuously fabricated for each stage, respectively. In addition, the relationship between applied pressures and dimensional changes of roll contact printed patterns was investigated. Finally, we confirmed that roll contact printing and the new fabrication method for roller stamps presented in this study demonstrated the feasibility for industrial applications.

Wire mask assisted rolling as a cost-effective method for high-throughput surface micro-texturing

“…At the moment, the present method is best suited for texturing flat surfaces. However, the flexibility of the rolling process to produce complex 3D curved surfaces [54,55] allows us to possibly address this issue. Since the wettability and hydrodynamic drag reduction capabilities are a function of surface area fraction, future studies will be focused on fabricating surfaces with dense micro-dimples.…”