Paper NS-MoM6
Surface Textures with Asymmetric Wetting and Optical Properties Enabled by Two-Photon Direct Laser Writing

Monday, November 7, 2016, 10:00 am, Room 101D

Over the last decade, advances in direct laser writing (DLW) using two-photon polymerization have led to development and proliferation of user friendly commercially available tools that extend the concept of additive manufacturing into the nanoscale and enable a researcher with facile and flexible means of fabricating arbitrary complex 3D elements with submicron fidelity. Using one of such recently emerged tools, namely a Photonic Professional GT system (Nanoscribe GmbH), we have explored various asymmetric motifs with the purpose of creating surface textures with unique wetting and optical properties. Starting with simple bio-inspired elements, such as arrays of deformed pillars and fish scale elements, we design and create surface textures that exhibit asymmetric contact angle hysteresis as well as strongly anisotropic reflectivity.

The unique flexibility in creating intricate 3D elements offered by two-photon DLW allows us to elucidate relationships between the subtle variations in the surface topology and changes in the targeted functionalities. Examples of model systems based on asymmetric textures with characteristics promising for a number of applications will be discussed. This talk will also discuss how two-photon DLW can be integrated with and augmented by more conventional wafer scale processing and thin film technologies. Of our particular attention are fabrication sequences that combine two-photon DLW with ALD and thermal post-processing with the goal of creating asymmetric textures represented by more diverse classes of materials beyond crosslinked photopolymers.