Claims
- 1. A fabricated microstructure comprising:
at least one protrusion capable of providing an adhesive force at a surface of between about 60 and 2,000 nano-Newtons; a stalk to support said protrusion at an oblique angle relative to a supporting surface; and whereby the microstructure can adhere to different surfaces.
- 2. A fabricated microstructure comprising:
a plurality of protrusions, each protrusion capable of providing an adhesive force at a surface of between about 60 and 2,000 nano-Newtons; and a stalk to support each of said protrusions at an oblique angle relative to a supporting structure.
- 3. The fabricated microstructure of claim 2 wherein the stalk has a length of between about 0.5 and 20 microns, and a diameter of between about 50 nanometers and 2.0 microns.
- 4. The fabricated microstructure of claim 2 wherein said protrusions adhere to the surface by intermolecular forces.
- 5. The fabricated microstructure of claim 2 wherein the oblique angle is between about 15 and 75 degrees.
- 6. The fabricated microstructure of claim 5 wherein the oblique angle is between about 30 and 60 degrees.
- 7. The fabricated microstructure of claim 5 wherein the oblique angle is about 30 degrees.
- 8. A fabricated microstructure comprising:
an array of protrusions, said array having a width less than about ten microns and each protrusion of said array capable of providing an adhesive force at a surface by intermolecular forces; and a stalk to support each of said protrusions at an oblique angle relative to a supporting shaft.
- 9. The fabricated microstructure of claim 8 wherein the stalk has a length of between about 0.5 and 20 microns, and a diameter of between about 50 nanometers and 2.0 microns.
- 10. The fabricated microstructure of claim 9 wherein the shaft has a length of between about 1 and 500 microns, and a diameter of between about 1 and 10 microns.
- 11. A fabricated microstructure comprising:
an array of members; each member supporting a protrusion at an oblique angle relative to a supporting surface; and wherein each protrusion is capable of providing an adhesive force at a surface of between about 60 and 2,000 nano-Newtons.
- 12. The fabricated microstructure of claim 11 wherein a terminal end of the protrusion has a shape selected from the group consisting of a curved segment of a sphere, a flattened segment of a sphere, a sphere, a flattened surface, and an end of a cylinder.
- 13. A fabricated microstructure comprising:
an array of stalks; said stalks having a diameter of between about 50 nanometers and 2.0 microns, and a length of between about 0.5 microns and 20 microns; each stalk supporting a spatula at an oblique angle relative to a supporting surface; and the spatula having a terminal end that provides an adhesive force.
- 14. A fabricated microstructure comprising:
a plurality of shafts extending at an oblique angle from a supporting surface; a plurality of stalks extending at an oblique angle from an end of the shafts opposite the shaft ends adjacent the supporting surface; at least one protrusion formed at an end of the stalks opposite the stalk ends adjacent the shafts; and wherein the protrusion is capable of providing an adhesive force at a surface by intermolecular forces.
- 15. The fabricated microstructure of claim 14 wherein the diameter of the shafts is between about 1 and 10 microns, and the length of the shafts is between about 1 and 500 microns.
- 16. The fabricated microstructure of claim 15 wherein the diameter of the stalks is between about 50 nanometers and 2.0 microns, and the length of the stalks is between about 0.5 and 20 microns.
- 17. The fabricated microstructure of claim 14 wherein the angle from which the stalks extend from the shafts is between about 15 and 75 degrees.
- 18. The fabricated microstructure of claim 17 wherein the angle from which the stalks extend from the shafts is between about 30 and 60 degrees.
- 19. The fabricated microstructure of claim 17 wherein the angle from which the stalks extend from the shafts is about 30 degrees.
- 20. The fabricated microstructure of claim 14 wherein the supporting surface is flexible.
- 21. The fabricated microstructure of claim 14 wherein a terminal end of the protrusion is capable of providing an adhesive force of between 60 and 2,000 nano-Newtons.
- 22. The fabricated microstructure of claim 14 wherein the protrusion has a Young's modulus of between about 0.1 and 20 giga-Pascals.
- 23. The fabricated microstructure of claim 14 wherein the protrusion is hydrophobic.
- 24. A method of fabricating an adhesive microstructure, said method comprising the steps of:
fabricating an array of stalks; and said array of stalks formed such that the stalks support a protrusion obliquely relative to a supporting surface wherein the protrusion can provide an adhesive force at a surface.
- 25. The method of claim 24 wherein said fabricating step includes the step of constructing said array of stalks using a template.
- 26. The method of claim 25 wherein said fabricating step includes molding said template with a polymer.
- 27. The method of claim 26 wherein said template is sheared under stress and a temperature to deform it.
- 28. The method of claim 26 wherein each side of said template is polished at an angle.
- 29. The method of claim 24 wherein said fabricating step includes the step of constructing said array of shafts using an imprinting technique.
- 30. A method of fabricating an adhesive microstructure comprising:
molding a structure having shafts supporting a plurality of stalks at an oblique angle; removing said structure to provide a template; molding the template with a polymer; and separating the template from the polymer to form the microstructure.
- 31. The method of claim 30 wherein the shafts comprise micro-scale, high aspect ratio members and the stalks comprise nano-scale, high aspect ratio members.
- 32. The method of claim 30 wherein the polymer is a liquid polymer or a sputtered polymer.
- 33. A method of fabricating an adhesive microstructure comprising:
joining a first template having a first set of pores that have a first diameter and that are at an oblique angle relative to a surface of the first template to a second template having a second set of pores that have a second diameter less than the first diameter, the second set of pores forming an oblique angle relative to said first set of pores; molding the first and second templates; and removing the templates to form the microstructure.
- 34. The method of claim 33 wherein the first set of pores have a diameter between about 1 and 10 microns, and a length between about 1 and 500 microns, and wherein the second set of pores have a diameter between about 50 nanometers and 2.0 microns, and a length between about 0.50 and 20 microns.
- 35. The method of claim 33 wherein the first and second templates are molded with a polymer.
- 36. The method of claim 33 wherein the first and second templates are joined by bonding.
- 37. A method of fabricating an adhesive microstructure comprising:
self-assembling a nano-pore array including two different polymers; and shearing the array and removing one of the polymers to form a microstructure having an array of stalks with the stalks able to support at least one protrusion at an oblique angle wherein the protrusion provides an adhesive force at a surface by intermolecular forces.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of the earlier filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/380,595, filed May 13, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Government Interests
[0002] This invention was made with Government support under Grant (Contract) No. N66001-01-C-8072 awarded by DARPA. The Government has certain rights to this invention.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60380595 |
May 2002 |
US |