Versatile methods for the fabrication of polyvinylidene fluoride microstructures

Abstract

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) microstructures are of interest for a number of BioMEMS applications both for their piezoelectric and biocompatible properties. In this work, simple soft lithography-based techniques were developed to fabricate PVDF microstructures with diverse geometries, including microarrays of pillars, lines, and wells. Four different microstructure configurations were created: freestanding, stamped discontinuous, stamped continuous and imprinted patterns. Features with lateral dimensions down to 1 μm were consistently reproduced on 2.5 cm diameter areas. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements of poled PVDF microstructures confirmed a marked inverse piezoelectric behavior. The techniques presented here have a number of advantages over previously demonstrated PVDF micropatterning approaches.

Piezoelectric Response in Hybrid Micropillar Arrays of Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride) and Reduced Graphene Oxide

“…The PDMS stamp was then used to imprint the dip-coated PVDF film, followed by drying at 70 °C for 10 min under pressure (200–310 kPa). Thereafter, the PDMS stamp was subsequently peeled away, leaving the patterned film on the substrate [38]. The imprinted micropillars were then immediately immersed in a precipitation bath comprising a mixture of deionized water and glycerol at −20 °C.…”

Microphone based on Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) micro-pillars and patterned electrodes

“…Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) micro-structures were fabricated using a procedure which is described in detail elsewhere [23]. Previously patterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamps molded from photolithographically fabricated masters were used to obtain arrays of PVDF micro-pillars with designed dimensions (Figure 3.11(a)).…”

Vertically aligned P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures on flexible pillar arrays

“…Organic ferroelectric nano- and micro-structures have attracted significant interest due to the widespread use of the portable 1 , implantable 2 , and flexible electronic devices 3 . Among the numerous ferroelectric polymers, poly-(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and its copolymer poly-(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene), (P(VDF-TrFE)) are strong candidates for these types of practical applications due to their relatively large remnant polarization values 4 , high piezoelectric voltage constants 5 , low dielectric constants 6 , and high chemical stability 2 .…”