Patent Application
20140363610
The present invention relates generally to interlocking microstructures having undercut or overhanging interlocking features. More particularly, the present invention relates to compression, extrusion and injection molding of interlocking dry adhesive microstructures with flexible mold technology including dry adhesives and methods of production therefor involving photolithographically formed flexible molds.
Biomimetic dry adhesives are inspired by the fibrillar structures found on the feet of geckos and certain spiders. These adhesives have been investigated by multiple research groups for use in applications ranging from climbing robots, to use in surgical tools or bandages, for example. Microstructuring surfaces into dry adhesive fibers of other interlocking microstructures having either undercut or overhanging interlocking features has been shown to allow relatively stiff materials to be more pliant in order to make intimate contact with substrates so that van der Waals interactions can produce significant adhesion for exploitation in dry adhesive structures. One application is to develop biomimetic dry adhesives for use in space applications. Potential advantages of these types of adhesives for use in space is that dry adhesives may provide for operation in vacuum without problems of out-gassing encountered with traditional pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs), and could potentially be used on almost any surface.
Biomimetic dry adhesives with mushroom shaped interlocking fibers have been found to be far more effective than their flat tipped counterparts for loading in the normal direction. While multiple groups have tested high aspect ratio fibers made of stiff polymers or carbon nanotubes, these adhesives generally perform much better in shear than with normal loads. In contrast, softer materials with mushroom shaped fibers demonstrate normal adhesion that is much greater than unstructured surfaces, and can have a high ratio of adhesion strength to pre-load. Multiple research groups have developed methods of producing mushroom shaped adhesive geometry, with fiber diameters ranging from <5 to >50 μm. In theory, these fibers operate primarily on van der Waals interactions between surfaces, and may operate effectively under vacuum. In practice, several groups have reported on performance degradation under low pressure conditions, or adhesion underwater—an unexpected occurrence if van der Waals forces are the primary cause of adhesion. In some such reports, the caps on the pillars were large (>40 μm).
In other applications which do not require adhesion of the dry adhesive in low-pressure environments, effective adhesives made of relatively soft materials (E˜1-10 MPa) have shown in experimental results that the shape of the fiber tip itself is dominant when determining maximum adhesion pressure, with mushroom shaped tips demonstrating the greatest effectiveness. Offset caps have been demonstrated such as by dipping and smearing flat fiber tips in fresh silicone, but their measured adhesion was less than that of aligned mushroom caps. More recently, angled tips have been used by different research groups to replicate some anisotropic behavior but these methods have required complex lithography or dipping techniques to define the molds or produce the final directional dry adhesives.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of manufacturing an interlocking dry adhesive structure comprising overhanging cap and undercut fiber structures is provided. In one such embodiment, the method comprises:
In another embodiment of the invention, the method may additionally comprise melting a thermoplastic dry adhesive polymer material before molding the thermoplastic dry adhesive polymer material in the flexible elastomer negative mold under application of heat and pressure. In a further embodiment, the step of molding according to the method may comprise at least one of compressive molding, injection molding and extrusion molding. In yet a further embodiment, the step of molding according to the method may comprise providing an extruded film of a thermoplastic dry adhesive polymer material, and molding the thermoplastic dry adhesive polymer material in a flexible elastomer negative mold roller under application of heat and pressure. In another embodiment, a thermoplastic interlocking dry adhesive structure comprising overhanging cap and undercut fiber structures is provided, where the thermoplastic interlocking dry adhesive structure is formed by the above-described method.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a thermoplastic interlocking dry adhesive structure comprising overhanging cap and undercut fiber structures is provided, in which the method comprises:
In another embodiment, the step of molding a thermoplastic polymer dry adhesive material according to the method may comprise at least one of compressive molding, injection molding and extrusion molding. In a further embodiment, the step of patterning and developing the photoresistive material to form a mask may comprise patterning the photoresistive material comprising at least one of: direct printing, stamping and lithography. In another embodiment, a thermoplastic interlocking dry adhesive structure comprising overhanging cap and undercut fiber structures is provided, where the thermoplastic interlocking dry adhesive structure is formed by the above-described method.
In an alternative embodiment, the method may comprise depositing, embossing, stamping or otherwise patterning a non-photosensitive material onto the mold substrate to form a mask comprising the undercut cap structures corresponding to the dry adhesive structure.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a thermoplastic interlocking dry adhesive structure consisting of a flexible thermoplastic polymer material is provided. In one such embodiment, the flexible thermoplastic polymer interlocking dry adhesive structure may comprise:
In an alternative embodiment of the thermoplastic interlocking dry adhesive structure according to the present invention, the plurality of fiber structures extending from the base structure may desirably have an aspect ratio of at least 2:1, and in a further embodiment, of at least 3:1.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a novel fabrication method is provided that uses deep UV exposures such as from germicidal lamps or other suitable UV sources to convert commercial acrylic substrates (such as polymethylmethacrylate or “PMMA” for example) into master molds for interlocking dry adhesive structures. Such interlocking dry adhesives are inspired by the fibrillar structures found on the feet of geckos and certain spiders, and may desirably provide for multiple overhanging adhesion surfaces (also referred to as “caps”) which may conform and adhere to other surfaces primarily through van der Waals interactions. An advantage of the present fabrication method of such embodiment is in the scale of the patterning that it can achieve, with the capabilities of making repeatable and customizable adhesive structures for a variety of applications and potential mold sizes in excess of those produced in traditional silicon technologies (such as silicon photoresist fabrication), which may typically be limited by the size of the silicon, for example. Such traditional photoresist based fabrication processes have been used to investigate methods of improving yield, adhesion strength, and anisotropic behavior of silicone based dry adhesives. In the present embodiment, the dry adhesive molding technology may be used to scale up to dozens of square feet per individual mold, or may optionally also be appropriate for continuous casting such as by combining multiple molds, or roller molds or other suitable roll-to-roll casting techniques.
The use of 254 nm UV light exposures have previously been made for thin polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) lithography and MEMS. However, in an embodiment of the present invention, PMMA lithography by UV (such as 254 nm) light exposure may be implemented in a simple method to produce detailed structures on commercial acrylic substrates which may comprise primarily PMMA and additives, and optionally also other suitable known acrylic materials. By using bulk acrylic (such as PMMA) to produce positive molds for subsequent dry adhesive designs, this process of the present embodiment may be used to design a master mold in a relatively stiff material that may be used for optimizing the geometry of subsequently cast dry adhesives.
The basic process according to an embodiment of the present invention is outlined in
In such method, a thin layer of SU-8 (or optionally another suitable photoresist material) is spun on a commercial acrylic substrate (such as OPTIX® from Plaskolite™), pre-baked, exposed, post-baked and developed. SU-8 is nearly opaque to 254 nm light, and serves as a deep UV mask and as a cap on the top of acrylic fibers. A Stratagene™ 2400 DNA crosslinker or other suitable 254 nm light source may then be used optionally in combination with anti-scatter grids which may desirably have aspect ratios of between about 1:1 and 2:1. Acrylic samples are placed on a rotating turntable during exposure to equalize the UV light dose received through the anti-scatter grids. This system combined with the natural reduction of angle by Snell's Law may desirably produce elongate acrylic fibers, such as fibers with aspect ratios desirably above about 4:1 for example (see
Optional use of anti-scatter grids in an optional embodiment may desirably reduce the negative sidewall angles and improve the aspect ratio of fibers produced in acrylic. In one embodiment, semi-collimation of large-area 254 nm exposures may be achieved by the introduction of simple anti-scatter grids between the light bulbs and the acrylic substrate. Anti-scatter grids have been extensively used for X-ray collimation purposes where traditional optics are not appropriate, but this method has not previously been widely used in UV lithography due to the relatively severe reduction in exposure intensity. For large-area exposures in certain embodiments of the present invention however, an anti-scatter grid with an aspect ratio as small as 1:1 can produce a much diminished negative sidewall angle with an acceptable increase in exposure time compared to uncollimated exposures. This is partially due to the effect of Snell's law aiding in the reduction in sidewall angle by reducing the light angle as it passes from air to the higher index of refraction acrylic substrate. For higher aspect ratio anti-scatter grids, the further improvement of sidewall angle due to Snell's law is reduced, and the ultimate aspect ratio of features will approach that of the anti-scatter grid. The anti-scatter grids used in embodiments of the present invention may be made of plastic grating commonly found in industrial or commercial lighting over fluorescent bulbs. On exemplary single level grating was approximately 12.5 mm thick, with square holes 12×12 mm in size and ˜1 mm thick walls providing a ˜1:1 aspect ratio grid. Two such gratings may be stacked to form a 2:1 aspect ratio grid. In another optional embodiment, the UV exposure may be at least partially collimated using other suitable collimation means.
In one embodiment, the UV exposure may desirably lower the molecular weight of the acrylic substrate so that it may be removed rapidly in developers, such as known acrylic and/or photoresist developing solutions, for example. In one embodiment of the present inventive method, it has been established that SU-8 developer provides a suitable combination of convenience, speed, and natural undercutting of the SU-8 structures on the surface of the substrate when used to develop the exposed acrylic. Because exemplary acrylic materials such as OPTIX® acrylic material have a relatively low molecular weight, the unexposed acrylic material will preferentially dissolve at a controllable rate which may be controlled by adjusting the temperature of the solvent and particular molecular weight of the acrylic material, to form desirably undercut mushroom shaped acrylic fibers. In one embodiment, the relatively low molecular weight OPTIX® acrylic material may be controlled to preferentially dissolve at approximately 60 nm per minute—forming desirably mushroom shaped acrylic fibers, for example. In another embodiment, the temperature of the solvent may be desirably controlled to adjust the effective preferential dissolution rate of the exposed acrylic, such as to allow for adjustment of the desired undercutting rate during development.
In such embodiment, once the required master shapes (such as the mushroom shaped acrylic fibers and caps) are completed out of acrylic and SU-8 materials, a negative mold may be made of the structure by casting of a suitable silicone-based or other suitable pliable or flexible molding material. After such flexible negative mold, such as a flexible negative silicone mold, is made, multiple materials may be cast from this mold in the shape of the original fiber designs to produce the desired dry adhesive structure. In one embodiment, exemplary such materials which may be cast to form dry adhesive structures include silicones, polyurethanes, siloxanes, polyamides, polyethylenes, or other suitable known castable dry adhesive materials. In an alternative embodiment, such potentially suitable dry adhesive materials may also comprise substantially stiffer and less pliable materials such as substantially rigid or partially flexible polymer materials, for example. In an exemplary embodiment, a Sylgard® 184 polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) such as is available from Dow Chemical may be used to form the dry adhesive structure. Sylgard® 184 is an exemplary platinum catalyzed silicone material. Preferably, the photoresist materials selected for use in embodiments of the present invention do not significantly inhibit the cure of the Sylgard® 184 or other materials used to produce the dry adhesive structure.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, suitable dry adhesive materials for casting interlocking dry adhesive structures from suitable flexible molds may include, but are not limited to: silicone rubbers (polydimethylsiloxane, polyvinylsiloxane etc.) flexible and semi-flexible polyurethanes, thermoplastic elastomers (including styrenic thermoplastic block copolymers such as styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene (SEBS) including Kraton G1657 and/or G1645, styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), styrene-ethylene/propylene-styrene (SPS), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), shape memory thermoplastic polymers, and polyolefin elastomer materials, for example), fluoroelastomers (such as Viton®, Kalrez® etc.), fluorosilicone rubbers, and polysulfide rubbers etc. In a particular exemplary embodiment, suitable dry adhesive materials may comprise a material modulus at small displacements (as an approximation of their hyperelastic behavior) between about 0.5-30 MPa and more particularly between about 1-20 MPa. Optionally, suitable such dry adhesive materials may also comprise a Shore A hardness between about 20 and 100, and more particularly between about 30 and 90. In another optional embodiment, suitable dry adhesive materials may be selected having higher Shore A hardnesses above about 90, for example, where a practical limitation for the hardness of a suitable material may be limited to avoid plastic yielding of the dry adhesive fibers under preload forces, for example. In a particular embodiment, a suitable dry adhesive material may be selected so as to comprise a stiffness material property allowing for both compressing the dry adhesive material without yielding it under relatively large preload forces so that the dry adhesive material makes contact with an opposing surface, while also being stiff enough to provide significant force when loaded in tension without undesirably large displacements. In another particular embodiment, the yield strength properties of a desirable dry adhesive structural material may also be selected to be desirably high enough to withstand anticipated tensile forces experienced with desirably optimized fiber designs without permanent deformations, and a desirably short recovery time in the case of particular viscoelastic structural materials. In a particular embodiment, a suitable castable dry adhesive material may desirably be chemically distinct and have substantially no chemical affinity (such as to avoid chemical or physical bonding) to the flexible mold material.
In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, a method of compression, extrusion and/or injection molding of interlocking dry adhesive structures is provided where a suitable thermoplastic castable dry adhesive material may be molded in a flexible negative mold of the desired interlocking dry adhesive structures, by application of heat and pressure to compress, extrude and/or inject the dry adhesive material into the flexible mold. In one such embodiment, a suitable thermoplastic material, such as a thermoplastic elastomer or other thermoplastic polymer, may desirably be meltable and reformable at a desired temperature range for casting of the interlocking dry adhesive structures in the flexible negative mold, and may desirably comprise a suitable flow rate at a desired processing temperature and also at a desirably low shear rate in order to provide for extrusion, compression molding or injection molding in the flexible negative mold. In another embodiment, the method may comprise extruding a substantially molten film of a suitable thermoplastic material, which may thereafter be cast in a flexible mold such as by injection and/or compression molding under application of heat and pressure. In a particular embodiment, a suitable thermoplastic material may comprise a desirably high melt flow index, wherein higher melt flow index values may typically be preferable to provide for improved casting under low shear rates at a particular desired processing temperature, for example. In a preferred embodiment, the method may desirably provide for casting of the dry adhesive material in the flexible negative mold to produce interlocking dry adhesive structures within a range of processing temperatures such that the dry adhesive material is cast in the flexible negative mold at a casting temperature above a higher glass transition temperature of at least one component of the dry adhesive material, and that the interlocking dry adhesive structures are set within the flexible negative mold at a setting temperature below a lower glass transition temperature of at least one component of the dry adhesive material. In a particular preferred embodiment, the setting of the interlocking dry adhesive structures may also desirably be conducted at a setting temperature or range of temperatures where the flexible negative mold is desirably substantially unstressed, such as to desirably reduce deformation of the final set interlocking dry adhesive fibers. In another preferred embodiment, the flexible negative mold material and dry adhesive materials may desirably be selected such that their thermal shrinkage/expansion rates may be substantially similar over the casting and/or setting temperature ranges of the compression, extrusion and/or injection molding process, such as to desirably reduce shrinkage/expansion stresses in the interlocking dry adhesive structures.
In a particular embodiment of the inventive method comprising compression, extrusion and/or injection molding of thermoplastic elastomer interlocking dry adhesive structures in a negative flexible mold under application of heat and pressure, a non-melting backing layer of a suitable non-melting material may desirably be applied to the thermoplastic elastomer material during the casting process under pressure. In a particular embodiment, the non-melting backing material may also comprise wetting properties with respect to the thermoplastic elastomer dry adhesive material. In one such embodiment, a suitable non-melting backing layer comprising glass, aluminum or other non-melting polymer material such as a Kapton® or other suitable non-melting polyimide film layer, may be desirably applied to the thermoplastic elastomer dry adhesive material during casting under pressure and heat, such as to desirably maintain expansion of the thermoplastic elastomer dry adhesive material in place within the flexible mold during casting and setting, for example.
In one exemplary embodiment, a thermoplastic polymer or elastomer (including styrenic thermoplastic block copolymers such as styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene (SEBS) including Kraton G1657 and/or G1645, styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), styrene-ethylene/propylene-styrene (SPS), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), shape memory thermoplastic polymers, and polyolefin elastomer materials, for example) or other suitable thermoplastic polymer material, such as exemplary Kraton G1657 and/or Kraton G1645 styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) elastomer dry adhesive materials (such as available from Kraton Performance Polymers Inc.) may be used to cast interlocking dry adhesive structures within a flexible negative silicone rubber (such as a TC-5030 silicone rubber from BJB Enterprises) mold. In one such embodiment, the thermoplastic elastomer such as a Kraton G1657 and/or Kraton G1645 styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) elastomer, may be used at a casting temperature of greater than about 160 C and more preferably about 170 C to about 230 C, and most preferably at a casting temperature of about 200 C, and cast within the flexible negative silicone rubber mold under a suitable casting compression pressure above ambient or atmospheric pressure levels. In a particular such compression molding embodiment, a casting pressure for casting interlocking dry adhesive structures may be applied between suitable plates above and below the thermoplastic dry adhesive material and flexible mold, such as to compress the thermoplastic dry adhesive material into the flexible mold to cast desired interlocking dry adhesive structures. In one such embodiment, at least a bottom one of such plates may be desirably heated to maintain a desired casting temperature, and in an exemplary embodiment, glass surfaces including at least a heated bottom glass plate surface may be used to apply a desired casting pressure. In one embodiment, the thermoplastic dry adhesive material may be premelted, such as by heating and compressing a granular or pellet bulk thermoplastic material to produce a single melted thermoplastic puck or melted thermoplastic mass on a suitable heated surface such as a heated glass plate surface, before compressive molding into the flexible negative mold under a desired compression pressure such as at about 2-5 psi and for approximately one minute, for example. Following compressive molding, the thermoplastic dry adhesive material may be removed from the heated surface and cooled before demolding the flexible mold to reveal the thermoplastic dry adhesive microstructures. In one exemplary such embodiment, Kraton G1657 and/or Kraton G1645 styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) elastomers may be used to mold thermoplastic dry adhesive structures having any suitable desired dimensions. In a particular embodiment, thermoplastic dry adhesive structures may be molded as mushroom shaped interlocking fibers about 20 um tall, with about 32 um neck diameter, 2.8 um cap thickness with 3.2 um cap overhang, and approximately 10 um gaps between neighbouring caps, for example.
In another particular embodiment, the thermoplastic dry adhesive material may be extruded in a film or elongated mass, and heated plates above and below the thermoplastic adhesive material may be provided in a continuous roll, such as to provide for a substantially continuous casting process. In such an embodiment, suitable interlocking thermoplastic dry adhesive structures may be desirably cast in an exemplary flexible mold using compression molding, with a replication time including setup, casting, cooling and demolding, of about two (2) minutes or less, for example. In another embodiment using an injection molding technique, a thermoplastic dry adhesive material having suitable viscosity properties at a desired casting temperature range may be cast into interlocking dry adhesive structures in a suitable flexible mold, such as to provide a desirably rapid method of injection molding of thermoplastic dry adhesive structures under application of heat and pressure. In other such embodiments, the molding time and/or compressive pressure may be adjusted as desired to provide for suitable flow of the desired molten thermoplastic dry adhesive material into the flexible mold to form the desired dry adhesive structure geometries, and may be varied depending on the type of thermoplastic material and/or geometry of desired dry adhesive structures.
In a particular embodiment directed to producing thermoplastic dry adhesive structures which are suitable for use in applications requiring inhibition of surface contamination on surfaces to which the adhesive structures are removably adhered, such as high purity applications including semiconductor manufacture or clean room material handling dry adhesive applications, a suitable thermoplastic dry adhesive material that inhibits residue or contamination of contacted surfaces may be chosen. In one such embodiment, a Kraton G1657 and/or Kraton G1645 styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) thermoplastic elastomer may be selected that is desirably adapted to inhibit transfer of oligomers onto surfaces to which the thermoplastic dry adhesives are adhered.
In one embodiment according to the present invention, negative flexible molds, such as silicone rubber molds, may be taken of acrylic master molds for different exposure doses after various stages of development to desirably vary or customize the fiber survival rate, fabrication yield and the effectiveness of interlocking dry adhesives in the resulting geometries (see
In a further embodiment of the present invention directed to dry adhesive structures for use in low-pressure environments and adapted to evaluate the microscale adhesion capabilities of relatively small radius fibers, a custom interlocking dry adhesive molding system that can be operated within a bell jar to provide adhesion data under a variety of environmental conditions (such as low pressure conditions, for example) was developed. In such embodiment, a polymer molding technology, which is described in further detail below, to produce mushroom shaped fibers of Sylgard® 184 polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), or other suitable dry adhesive material, and provides an easy method of producing fibers with a large number of potential interlocking geometries. The general process steps are outlined in
In such an embodiment as illustrated in
In such an embodiment, a single wafer may be used to mold the dry adhesives, and the cap size of the interlocking dry adhesive structure may be altered by exposing the PMGI through a shadow mask to several doses of 254 nm UV light prior to application of AZ 9260 material such as by spin coating. This may desirably allow different fiber geometries to be produced using one mold under identical processing conditions. After the molds are completed, PDMS or another suitable dry adhesive material may be prepared (such as PCMS mixed up at a ratio of 10:1 pre-polymer to catalyst), optionally degassed under light vacuum and applied to the wafer, such as by being spun onto the wafer to get an even film. The wafer may then be degassed again such as for 1 hour before curing such as at 50° C. for 16 hours, for example. The dry adhesive structures may then be demolded, and baked such as for 1 hour at 120° C. to improve their strength, and stabilize the cure. In other embodiments, compression, extrusion and/or injection molding techniques may be used to cast suitable thermoplastic dry adhesive materials into flexible negative molds under application of heat and pressure, to produce interlocking dry adhesive structures.
Adhesion forces of dry adhesive structures produced according to the embodiments described above in reference to
A series of adhesion tests were performed at atmospheric conditions, with varying preloads to test the base adhesive response of the dry adhesive structures. Tests on a flat PDMS surface at different pressures displayed no apparent change in adhesion vs. preload, despite the relative humidity dropping within the chamber under vacuum, suggesting that the adhesion performance of dry adhesive structures according to the present embodiments are insensitive to the effects of relative humidity. Displacement control of the linear stage was used to provide an increasing series of preloads, and the maximum adhesion was measured for each point. The dry adhesive structure sample with the smallest caps was found to have very little adhesion relative to the caps defined using 0.3J exposure dose, and was excluded from further analysis. Dry adhesive samples were first preloaded with large forces multiple times before adhesion data was collected. Typically, the adhesion strength of dry adhesives has been found to diminish with time, as surface contamination or fiber collapse becomes significant. In the dry adhesive samples according to the above embodiments, the equilibrium adhesion strength after multiple load cycles was considered a better representation of the long-term performance of these dry adhesives, and was therefore included with these measurements. For all dry adhesive structure fibers with the exception of those defined with the 0.5J exposure dose, fibers remained uncollapsed after large preloads. The resulting curves of preload vs. adhesion strength are shown in
Upon testing of the above-described dry adhesive structure embodiments, there was desirably no discernable effect of lower atmospheric pressures on the adhesion strength of mushroom shaped dry adhesive fibers at different preloads, and the general reduction of adhesion strength with repeated contact/pull-off cycles was a far larger component of the variation in adhesive strength observed. While a small difference in adhesion is observed for the fibers with the largest caps, this effect appeared most likely due to increased fiber collapse, and this sample had the highest variation in adhesion performance under both atmospheric and low pressure testing.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a variety of different fiber geometries with mushroom cap dry adhesive structures (such as described above in reference to
In the embodiments of the present invention directed to production of dry adhesive structures, SU-8 may be used as a suitable and useful cap producing material and photoresist in the production method, such as described above. However, in other embodiments, other materials such as photoresists, metals, UV insensitive polymers and others suitable materials may alternatively be employed. In one such embodiment, a commercially available mirrored acrylic (PMMA with aluminum already deposited on it) may be used, which may allow the production of interlocking dry adhesive structures having multiple levels of fibers through different UV light exposures, doses and patterns, without requiring an SU-8 layer to form the cap material, for example. In another embodiment, a non-photosensitive material may be stamped, embossed or deposited in a desired pattern to provide the cap material for the desired interlocking dry adhesive microstructures without requiring an SU-8 or other photosensitive material.
Additional advantages of the flexible molding process described above in reference to
In further embodiments of the invention, substantially any suitable material that may be cast (either as polymer precursors, dissolved in a solvent or melted, such as in the case of thermoplastics and thermoplastic elastomers) may be formed as an interlocking dry adhesive structure according to an embodiment of the invention, such as by using the molding dry adhesive production methods described above and illustrated in
In a further embodiment, interlocking dry adhesive structure caps may be defined into almost any desired shape, thickness, or size such as through control and variation of one or more of the photoresist mask design or pattern, pre-exposure, exposure and development process steps, and UV light exposure dose. In an exemplary embodiment, the fiber and cap geometries may be configured with fiber heights such as from about 1 um to 100s of um, fiber aspect ratios from less than about 1:1, to more than about 5:1, and cap shapes and/or fiber cross-sections such as substantially round, oval, hexagonal, or rectangular, for example. Such configurability of the interlocking dry adhesive structure caps and/or fibers may desirably allow tailored adhesion strength properties across a single sheet of dry adhesive. In a further embodiment, such configurability of the caps may desirably provide for anisotropic adhesion behavior when desired, such as disclosed in further detail below. In yet a further embodiment, such configurability of the interlocking dry adhesive structure caps may desirably provide the ability to define the optimal interlocking dry adhesive fiber geometry for nearly any dry adhesive structural material or expected adhesion application or environment.
In another embodiment, interlocking dry adhesive structure fibers may be naturally formed with fillets on the base of the fibers, such as due to the diffraction angles and properties of the UV light source used to expose the dry adhesive mold substrate. In such an embodiment, the filleted shape of the base of the dry adhesive fibers may desirably provide increased survivability of the fibers during demolding of the interlocking dry adhesive structure (removal of the dry adhesive structure from the mold) because there are few stress concentrators, and the smooth surfaces allow easy dry adhesive material removal with desirably less likelihood of damage or loss of interlocking dry adhesive fibers, and may desirably also provide for improved filling of the mold during compression/injection molding of the dry adhesive material in the flexible mold, for example.
In a further embodiment, the interlocking dry adhesive fibers may optionally be defined with any one of collimated, partially or semi-collimated, or substantially uncollimated UV light sources, or combinations thereof. Such UV light sources may comprise light at 254 nm and lower wavelengths, for example. While in some embodiments the specific wavelength of UV light exposure may not be critical, a 254 nm light source may be the easiest to produce for exposure on large scales. In such embodiments, the exact shape of the interlocking dry adhesive fibers may be controlled by one or more of the light exposure dose, PMMA molecular weight, solvent used for the PMMA development and the total development time, for example.
In yet a further embodiment, PMMA molds may be produced in any size suitable for the process steps required for producing the interlocking dry adhesive. In a particular embodiment, PMMA mold sizes may be several dozen square feet, or may alternatively be quite small depending on the resources available to make the original master mold. In one embodiment, the PMMA master molds may comprise either a single or multiple level mold hierarchy, such as may be provided by using a single or multiple layers of photoresist or other suitable material for masking/forming the cap and/or fiber features of the interlocking dry adhesive structure. Such flexibility of using single or multiple level master mold hierarchies may desirably provide for direct casting of repeatable single or multiple hierarchal interlocking dry adhesive structures according to the invention.
In one embodiment, silicone or other suitable flexible molds may be created from the acrylic master molds desirably without requiring any prior surface treatments to the acrylic master molds. In such an embodiment, the flexible molds may desirably be tough and sufficiently flexible, allowing even substantially rigid interlocking dry adhesive structural materials to be demolded successfully. In another such embodiment, once an original acrylic master mold is created, it may be duplicated in a suitable substantially rigid material, such as an exemplary hard polyurethane, polystyrene, PVDF, or other plastic material, to enable the making of sister molds as may be desirable for faster duplication of dry adhesive structures, and/or to provide backup molds. In yet another such embodiment, the casting of a hard plastic or other substantially rigid material using the silicone or other flexible mold and curing or setting the small interlocking dry adhesive fiber structures on other surfaces may desirably allow the assembly of complex hierarchal interlocking dry adhesive structures that may be otherwise impossible using existing fabrication techniques. In one embodiment as described above, very large master molds may be made as a singular mold component, or alternatively, smaller versions of a master mold (such as <1′×1′ for example) may be made, as illustrated in
In an alternative embodiment, surface treating either the acrylic master mold or subsequent elastomer or other flexible (such as silicone for example) negative molds may provide for producing dry adhesive structures out of any suitable castable materials, including for example, epoxies, silicones, polyurethanes, natural and artificial rubbers polyimides, silicone rubbers (polydimethylsiloxane, polyvinylsiloxane, etc.), flexible and semi-flexible polyurethanes, polystyrenes, thermoplastic elastomers (including styrenic thermoplastic block copolymers such as styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene (SEBS) including Kraton G1657 and/or G1645, styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), styrene-ethylene/propylene-styrene (SPS), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), shape memory thermoplastic polymers, and polyolefin elastomer materials, for example), fluoroelastomers (Viton®, Kalrez® etc.), fluorosilicone rubbers and polysulfide rubbers, for example. In a particular embodiment, a suitable castable dry adhesive structural material may desirably provide for producing substantially smooth and substantially void free surfaces that faithfully replicate the relative geometries of the interlocking microstructures of the flexible negative mold.
In one embodiment, exemplary final interlocking dry adhesive structures may be desirably formed from suitable dry adhesive materials which have substantially low surface energy, are substantially solvent tolerant and have Young's modulus values between ˜1 MPa-1 GPa. Further, certain desirable dry adhesive structural materials may also exhibit accelerated cure rates through the application of heat, radiation or other means, or rapid unaccelerated cure times of about a few minutes or less. In one exemplary embodiment, silicone rubbers without fillers (particles of silica etc.) may be used for interlocking dry adhesive structures intended for long-term use. In another embodiment, materials used for preparing negative molds for casting the interlocking dry adhesives may comprise addition cured silicones which may be surface treated with silanes for subsequent silicone molding, or left untreated for casting other non-silicone materials. In an alternative embodiment however, other suitable materials may be used to form the negative molds, which may desirably be pliable and easily released, and may further desirably be softer than the final interlocking dry adhesive material for best demolding results. In another embodiment, thermoplastic elastomers or other thermoplastic polymers may be used for casting interlocking dry adhesive structures in flexible negative molds using compression, extrusion or injection molding techniques which may exhibit desirably rapid thermo-molding and setting times of less than two (2) minutes, preferably less than about one (1) minute, and more preferably less than about thirty (30) seconds, for example.
In a further embodiment, a particular interlocking dry adhesive structure fiber shape may be created in PMMA for any dry adhesive materials with a Young's modulus lower than that of the PMMA. In such an embodiment, the fiber shape may thereby depend on the dry adhesive material stiffness, viscoelasticity, and strength, in addition to the fabrication limits (such as surface roughness for example) when making the original master mold. In one embodiment, larger interlocking dry adhesive fibers with diameters greater than about 30 μm may be easily defined without requiring a collimated light source, due to the undercutting limits of PMMA. In another embodiment providing smaller fibers, a more collimated light source may be used to undercut into the fibers under the caps before the PMMA fiber falls off the substrate. In general, the most effective fiber size, spacing and cap dimensions may depend on the dry adhesive structural material chosen. In a further embodiment, the UV light source does not have to be 254 nm, and for example, a 184 nm light could also be used from the same light bulbs, which may provide a much faster exposure for small features but may require that the exposure be completed in a vacuum or under inert atmosphere (no O2), rather than the less stringent atmosphere requirements of the 254 nm light source.
In embodiments utilizing an SU-8 layer such as illustrated in
In an embodiment of the present invention wherein fiber and cap sizes are in the range of about 1-200 um in size, the application of uncured elastomeric dry adhesive structural materials to a flexible negative mold to cast the interlocking dry adhesive structure may desirably be made without the application of vacuum. In such embodiments, the uncured dry adhesive structural material (such as PDMS, polyurethane, polyimide, for example) may be applied to the mold using a spreading technique, such as by using a spreading utensil to force the material into the mold, and/or optionally by also applying a kneading motion to the flexible mold to fill in the fibers/caps and other features of the interlocking dry adhesive structure. In one embodiment, such spreading and kneading techniques may be enabled by the unique shape of the interlocking dry adhesive fiber features such as the flared or filleted bottom of the fibers, and/or by the flexibility of the negative mold material. Such embodiments may desirably avoid the use of vacuum during casting, which may improve the speed, economics and simplicity of the dry adhesive manufacturing method as described above and in reference to
In particular embodiments of the present invention, one or more anti-scatter grids may be used between the UV light source and the acrylic mold substrate during exposure. In such embodiments, the anti-scatter grid may act to removes a substantial portion of the light from the light source and thereby to substantially lengthens the exposure time for producing the master acrylic mold. In further embodiments, one or more other mechanisms or techniques for providing collimation of the UV light source during exposure may also be used. Exemplary such exposure control light sources may comprise UV light emitting diodes, UV lasers with beam expanders and compact UV bulbs with parabolic reflectors for example. In a further embodiment, a lens, such as a hot embossed, cured or fresnel lens may be placed between the acrylic mold substrate and the UV light source during exposure, such as to produce angled lithographic patterns due to the refraction effects of the lens on the UV light source, for example.
In a further embodiment, a partially collimated exposure and/or light source may be used for producing molds comprising features such as relatively higher aspect ratio interlocking fibers, or alternatively to provide a more even and/or slower development rate of the mold substrate material, as illustrated in
In another embodiment, a substantially uncollimated UV light source may be used to expose substantially low aspect ratio fiber features in the PMMA substrate, as illustrated in
In a further embodiment, SU-8 caps on the PMMA material may comprise two levels, or may have a small cavity in their upper surface, such as to produce a small defect in the same part of each cap on the fibers of the PMMA substrate after exposure and developing, as shown in
In another embodiment, a directional or anisotropic interlocking dry adhesive may be provided by providing single level SU-8 caps which comprise a linear gap across a portion of the cap, as illustrated in
In yet a further embodiment, a multi-level hierarchy may be provided in a PMMA substrate mold, to produce a resulting multi-level interlocking dry adhesive. A partially collimated UV light exposure may be used to define the small fibers in the upper level of the hierarchy, while a longer, uncollimated light exposure may be used to produce bigger pillars such as in the lower level of the hierarchy, as shown in
In another embodiment of the invention, an inclined exposure of UV light may be applied to the PMMA/SU-8 mold substrate such as by inclining the mold substrate with respect to the UV light source during exposure, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, one or more interlocking caps (and preferably a substantially evenly distributed portion of the caps) of a mold (and the resulting interlocking dry adhesive) may be made substantially thicker than the remaining caps, such as two or more times as thick as illustrated in
In another embodiment, one or more, or substantially all of the caps may be provided with an elevated rim around the cap, to provide a “suction-cup” shape to the SU-8 caps, as shown in
In a further embodiment, such as for applications in environments where contamination with liquids such as water may occur, a superhydrophobic interlocking dry adhesive structure may be provided by using a fiber comprising one or more protrusions along its length, as illustrated in
In yet a further embodiment, a thermoplastic interlocking dry adhesive structure according to an embodiment of the present invention may be manufactured from a thermoplastic dry adhesive material which is natively hydrophobic. In one such embodiment, a natively hydrophobic thermoplastic dry adhesive material may desirably provide for improved interlocking dry adhesive structure function for adhering to surfaces in a humid, wet or underwater environment, as may be useful in many water-prone applications. In a particular embodiment, a thermoplastic interlocking dry adhesive structure formed from a natively hydrophobic thermoplastic dry adhesive material may desirably provide for improved underwater adhesion to many surfaces, and may desirably not rely upon suction or related mechanisms for adhesion. In another particular embodiment, a natively hydrophobic thermoplastic interlocking dry adhesive structure may be desirably formed from a SEBS type thermoplastic with relatively hydrophobic native properties, as may be desired for certain wet or underwater applications, for example.
In another embodiment, a non-directional interlocking dry adhesive structure is provided with a cap shape that has a ratio of overhang to tip thickness sufficient to both preload the entire supporting fiber and distribute the load close to but not entirely to the perimeter of the cap when pulled off of a surface. This tip shape may desirably result in the maximum possible adhesion pressure and the lowest probability of encountering a defect on the tip (defined as an area that is not in contact with another surface) that reduces the adhesion significantly from the theoretical maximum. For low modulus dry adhesive materials, this cap shape may desirably be bounded by a ratio of approximately 1:1 for thickness to overhang, and with a maximum overhang for the material to spontaneously recover if the cap is folded into contact with the underlying fiber, or in contact with the top of the cap. The exact optimal dimension for this desired force condition to be achieved may be defined by the modulus of the material and its surface energy. Higher modulus and lower surface energy adhesive materials may have a smaller ratio of thickness to overhang for optimal dimensions. Every scale of fiber from nano/micro/macro scale may desirably have a shape that is optimal for both preloading the fiber and minimizing vulnerability to peeling that may be determined according to the stiffness/adhesion properties of the material.
In another embodiment, a dry adhesive material that is a composite with individual stiff particles larger than the minimum tip dimensions of an individual fiber may be used to produce an interlocking dry adhesive structure. This may desirably stiffen the fiber stalk and bulk material, yet keep the stiff particles embedded within the fiber away from the tip where they may negatively affect adhesion. In a further embodiment, a dry adhesive structure may be produced using a material to produce dry adhesive fibers where the material modulus at the fiber tip is significantly less than those of the underlying bulk material and remaining length of the fiber. Specifically a variation of this design may be provided where only the top surface of the cap is of a lower modulus material than the bulk material. Such a dry adhesive structure may desirably allow fibrillar surfaces to adhere better to lower modulus surfaces and materials such as skin, or organs, for example. One potential application of such an embodiment may be for use as an effective bandage material, for example, whereby unlike standard dry adhesives, such a material may be used only once but may still have the benefits of contact splitting and providing air access to the underlying skin/flesh such as for more rapid healing.
In another embodiment, an interlocking dry adhesive structure may be provided which comprises an adhesive material with at least one integrated smart material which may be adapted to alter one or more of the mechanical stiffness, surface energy, viscoelasticity or geometry of the dry adhesive structure during use to desirably increase or reduce adhesion properties. Such incorporated smart materials may desirably provide for control of the adhesion properties of dry adhesive structures such as by varying temperature, magnetic or electric fields, electrical current, pneumatic or hydraulic pressure, or other control means. In a particular embodiment, a thermoplastic interlocking dry adhesive structure may be molded from a suitable thermoplastic shape memory polymer material, to provide interlocking dry adhesive structures in a thermoplastic shape memory polymer. In one such particular embodiment, the shape memory polymer material may desirably have at least a dual-shape memory effect, wherein an interlocking dry adhesive structure formed from the shape memory polymer material may be deformed into a temporary shape and may later recover its permanent or original shape in response to an external stimulus or trigger. In one such embodiment, the external stimulus for recovery of the permanent or original shape may comprise exposure to at least one of temperature gradient (heating or cooling), electrical or magnetic field, optical or radiation exposure, and chemical triggers, for example. In a particular such embodiment, a shape memory polymer interlocking dry adhesive structure may desirably deform and recover between configurations which improve or deter adhesion at different temperatures, for example, to desirably provide for temperature controlled adhesion properties, or to allow for cleaning or anti-contamination properties such as by providing for adhesion at one temperature, and for releasing dust or contamination from the dry adhesive structure at another temperature, for example.
Alternatively, in a further embodiment, the flexible negative mold used to cast the interlocking dry adhesive structure may be modified such as by electrically charging the mold to impart a permanent electrostatic charge on cast adhesive materials to help bring individual fibers into contact with a surface. Similarly, in another embodiment, a mold may be provided in which the curing of the cast dry adhesive material may be selectively inhibited, such as by use of an inhibiting agent embedded in specific mold locations which may reduce the crosslinking density of the cured adhesive material at the tops/caps of fibers, as may be desirable to provide a tacky adhesion surface of the dry adhesive structure without affecting the quality and/or strength of the bulk adhesive material, for example. In another embodiment, a flexible negative mold for molding interlocking dry adhesive structures may be made from a shape memory polymer material such as to desirably provide for increased mold durability by means of self-healing properties of selected shape memory polymer materials, for example.
The following several embodiments of the present invention relate to the direct molding of interlocking dry adhesive structures on a photoresist mold, and to dry adhesive structures exhibiting anisotropic peel strengths which may be manufactured by such direct molding methods. In one embodiment, any suitable desired dry adhesive material may be used to directly mold such interlocking dry adhesive structures, including but not limited to: epoxies, silicones, polyurethanes, natural and artificial rubbers polyimides, silicone rubbers (polydimethylsiloxane, polyvinylsiloxane, etc.), flexible and semi-flexible polyurethanes, polystyrenes, thermoplastic elastomers (including styrenic thermoplastic block copolymers such as styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene (SEBS) including Kraton G1657 and/or G1645, styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), styrene-ethylene/propylene-styrene (SPS), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), shape memory thermoplastic polymers, and polyolefin elastomer materials, for example), fluoroelastomers (Viton®, Kalrez® etc.), fluorosilicone rubbers and polysulfide rubbers, for example. In a particular exemplary embodiment only, the structural material used to produce dry adhesives according to several embodiments of the present invention as described below may comprise a silicone such as a Sylgard® 184 silicone from Dow Chemical which is a platinum catalyzed silicone that has been used in a wide variety of MEMS applications. To produce the mold for direct molding of this silicone, a two level photoresist stack was used, based on an undercutting layer of polymethylglutarimide (PMGI) such as available from Microchem, and AZ 9260 photoresist. Both materials are positive acting photoresists, although the PMGI is insensitive to i-line (365 nm) exposures. AZ 400K developer diluted 1:4 in water was primarily used for developing the AZ 9260, followed by MF-319 developer to produce the desired undercut in PMGI. These photoresist materials may be desirably used because they are compatible with one another, easily spin coated in a variety of thicknesses, and most importantly, neither significantly inhibit the cure of the Sylgard® 184 when it is molded in the photoresist mold. Additionally, the PMGI can have its dissolution rate altered by exposing it to 254 nm light, allowing an undercut size and shape to be well defined using lift-off processing techniques. In an embodiment of the present invention, patterned areas are exposed to define general undercut shape and location in the PMGI and may be used to define the undercut shape and location independently of the shape or size of the photoresist holes. A diagram showing the basic fabrication procedure is shown in
A general fabrication process according to an embodiment of the present invention allows a very large number of variations for PMGI and photoresist thickness, which in turn require fine-tuning of process parameters. The following is a description of a manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention, which may be used to produce an exemplary anisotropic interlocking dry adhesive according to another embodiment of the invention, whose behavior is detailed in the later sections:
Careful alignment of the two photoresist layers is desirably achieved for fabrication according to the methods of the present invention. PMGI is nearly transparent, and exposed features are not typically visible under high magnification on the aligner. Although it is possible to have previously patterned alignment markers such as in the Au/Cr layer, which has been used in earlier work with transparent structural layers according to one embodiment, in another embodiment an alternative solution may be to leave the wafer in MF-319 developer a little longer than 30 seconds when patterning the thin photoresist prior to 254 nm exposure. In such embodiment, the small developed depth of the PMGI (˜50-100 nm) may then visible under the AZ 9260 photoresist for future alignment to features. Because the strength of the adhesive is so dependent on the exact placement of the caps, the collimation of the aligner is a significant factor in achieving a large field of adhesives with equal properties using the fabrication methods and technologies according to the present invention. If collimation is not good, high aspect ratio features may be radially misaligned and adhesive properties may be consistent over a much smaller portion of the wafer. Once fabricated, the mold can be used multiple times. If alignment is not acceptable, the mold may be stripped in acetone and MF-319 and the wafer may be reused as necessary.
In an alternative embodiment, a suitable thermoplastic dry adhesive material which is compatible with the mold material(s) may be used to thermoplastically cast an interlocking dry adhesive structure directly on the mold by application of heat and pressure, in alternative to exemplary steps 10 and 11. In one such alternative embodiment, compression, extrusion and/or injection molding techniques may be used to cast the suitable thermoplastic dry adhesive material directly into the master mold, and to de-mold the resulting interlocking dry adhesive structure following cooling of the thermoplastic dry adhesive material, for example.
To test a wider variety of anisotropic interlocking dry adhesive geometry variations, the two masks according to embodiments of the invention were produced using either square or rectangular geometries. The primary purpose of this geometry was to ensure that one side would have a very long interface with minimal cap overhang to maximize the differences between adhesion when loading in different directions. Additionally, the cap geometry was rectangular, while the post geometry was set as a square, so that selective misalignments in different directions would result in a much larger range of potential fiber geometries than simply two circles. Another potential benefit to the square post designs is that fill factors of the adhesives can be much higher than for circular posts which should increase the total adhesion. Although there may be an increased likelihood of fiber collapse while using square fibers, earlier theoretical work has indicated that there would be negligible benefits for using a circular fiber rather than a rectangular fiber with equal cross-sectional dimensions. Although the structures fabricated in this work had 10 μm fiber heights, the mold thickness may be increased for other variations.
To test the peel strengths of the anisotropic dry adhesives according to an embodiment of the invention, we used a test system based on the Kendall model of peeling (as expressed in the reference by K. Kendall: “Thin-film peeling—the elastic term,” Journal of Physics D, Applied Physics, vol. 8, 1975), which allows us to determine how strong the adhesive force of the anisotropic dry adhesive structure is when loaded in multiple orientations. An exemplary silicone interlocking dry adhesive sheet used for testing in the present embodiment was 9 cm long, 15 mm wide, and 350 μm thick, however other dimensions and specifications may be used in other embodiments of the invention. The geometry of the cap and schematic of the exemplary test setup is shown in
The adhesive strip was attached to a glass slide (previously cleaned in ultrasonic acetone and de-ionized water) mounted to a rotary stage in a vertical orientation. A weight was clipped onto the end of the adhesive and the stage was slowly rotated until the onset of peeling and the equilibrium angle was recorded. The peeling tests were completed 5 times for each weight in each adhesive orientation. The peel strength, R is estimated from the Kendall model of peeling (as described in K. Kendall, “Thin-film peeling—the elastic term,” Journal of Physics D, Applied Physics, vol. 8, 1975, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference) where F is the applied force, b is the width of the adhesive, d is the adhesive thickness, E is Young's modulus, and Θ is the peeling angle:
The peel strength is found by fitting this model to the experimental data, and was determined for an exemplary adhesive according to one embodiment when loaded in its strong and weak direction, as well as the back side of the exemplary adhesive strip, which provided the peel strength of an exemplary unstructured silicone processed with the same steps. The resulting behavior for the anisotropic behavior along with peel strength is shown in
The theoretical model fits the experimental data obtained for tests of an exemplary embodiment of the adhesive according to the invention quite well, with the exception of the exemplary adhesive loaded in the strong direction with large weights. In this case, the peel strength appears to have improved with the increased load—a desirable result.
In one embodiment, such behavior may potentially be due to increased shear forces on each fiber during these large loads shifting the location of maximum force on the fiber to an area closer to the large overhanging cap. As this cap may be more tolerant of flaws and crack initiation, it may result in a stronger (such as ˜50% greater) peel strength than when the exemplary sample is loaded lightly. Another very interesting result is that the tested fibers show anisotropic peel strength at all loading values, with lower strength than flat silicone for the weak direction and higher strength than flat silicone for the strong direction. Optimization of the cap overhang and other dimensions of exemplary interlocking adhesive embodiments may be determined by further experimentation, for example.
The fabrication methods according to embodiments of the invention, and as described above, may be capable of producing an exemplary anisotropic interlocking adhesive, but the performance may not be the same as an actual gecko. Earlier work on whole toe and individual setae of geckos has demonstrated what is termed to be frictional adhesion, where the normal adhesive force that a gecko produced is related to the shear force applied to the toe or setae. A benefit to this adhesion method is that when the shear load is removed, there will be substantially no normal adhesion and the animal can remove its foot from a surface with ease. Qualitatively, anisotropic adhesives according to embodiments of the present invention as described above may not behave in this manner, as they may remain on smooth surfaces under small perpendicular loads in the absence of shear.
There are several potential reasons for this difference in behavior. Unlike the gecko, the interlocking dry adhesives according to certain embodiments of the present invention may be made of a relatively soft material that exhibits significant normal and peel adhesion strength even when unstructured and the minimum adhesive force under pure normal loading may be inherently greater. A second difference between adhesive behaviors is that the gecko foot hairs are angled prior to loading and require shear force to put them all in contact. If the fiber tips of dry adhesives according to certain embodiments of the present invention were tilted, they might also be expected to demonstrate behavior closer to gecko frictional adhesion.
Further improvement to the dry adhesives according to one embodiment of the present invention may involve optimizing the tip size and offset, as well as increasing the fiber heights.
Microfluidics, smart materials, and biomimetic surfaces such as interlocking dry adhesive structures according to embodiments of the present invention may all desirably benefit from the cost reductions and substrate size increases available when using hybrid micromanufacturing technologies adapted to large scale manufacturing, such as roll to roll continuous manufacturing processes, for example. Micro and nano-fabrication has traditionally been based on silicon, glass and other inorganic materials, owing to its history as an offshoot of the microelectronics industry. However, many new microstructured products, such as smart surfaces and materials, cannot be commercially viable when limited by the size of a typical silicon wafer and/or limited by small scale batch processes. The focus of traditional microfabrication and lithography is to reduce the size of minimum features in order to pack more devices on a single chip, but there is very little research on batch microfabrication on very large areas. For many applications. such as microfluidics, feature sizes on the order of 5-10 μm may be acceptable, but device sizes may desirably be several square centimeters at minimum. The production of low-cost microfluidics using polymers promises great savings in costs, reaction times and consumed materials when applied to drug testing, biological analysis and chemical reactions. Unfortunately, large-scale commercialization of these devices is held back in part by existing manufacturing methods which are designed for inorganic materials, and don't take advantage of casting, stamping, direct printing, injection molding and other fabrication options that have made polymers and plastics so ubiquitous for macroscale applications. Polymer MEMS and microfabrication requires a leap in manufacturing technologies to enhance traditional lithography with large-scale substrates and low-cost materials. The growing capability of industrial fabrication technologies to approach the feature sizes previously only achievable by lithography has opened up many new possibilities for producing hybrid micro/macro products using polymers that are beyond the capability of traditional silicon MEMS.
In one embodiment of the invention, large-scale micro-patterned smart materials and polymer based microsystems may be produced, such as by new microfabrication technologies that borrow from other manufacturing industries and modify traditional lithography to manufacture microsystems on industrial scales. Although microfluidics, MEMS and micropatterned surfaces have all been produced using traditional lithography on silicon or glass substrates, part of the limitation in mass producing these products has been the limited substrate sizes—a maximum of 30 cm diameter disks in the case of silicon. While the complexity and power per unit area of integrated circuits has increased dramatically over the last two decades, products like labs-on-chip and MEMS devices cannot be reduced in size as easily while still being effective for chemical synthesis or biological analysis. Fundamentally, integrated circuits design can benefit from further reduction of features and chip size, while biological and chemical applications are presently better served by reducing the cost per area of relatively large chips and dies. Other applications for polymer micromachining, such as self-cleaning superhydrophobic surfaces or biomimetic interlocking dry adhesives according to embodiments of the present invention, only require one or two patterned layers, simplifying alignment processes and allowing much larger areas to be patterned in a single step. Polymer micromachining on large substrates, or with newer technologies like roll-to-roll processing can fill a manufacturing niche that neither traditional microfabrication nor industrial manufacturing has properly addressed.
In another embodiment of the present invention a roll-to-roll processing method may be adapted for producing interlocking dry adhesive structures from thermoplastic polymer and/or thermoplastic elastomer materials, wherein a flexible negative mold may be used to mold the thermoplastic material by means of a suitable compression, extrusion or injection molding procedure. In such a compression, extrusion or injection molding procedure, preferably both heat and pressure are applied to the thermoplastic material such as to heat the thermoplastic above a higher critical glass transition temperature or above a critical polymer flow temperature and to force the thermoplastic material into the flexible negative mold under pressure. Subsequent manufacturing steps according to an embodiment of the invention may desirably include a cooling step to cool the thermoplastic dry adhesive material below a glass transition temperature of at least one component of the thermoplastic material (may be passive and/or actively cooled steps) and a de-molding step to separate the final interlocking dry adhesive structure.
Referring to
One embodiment of the present invention comprises advanced micro-manufacturing technologies and development of new composites and functional polymer materials for future integration with large-scale manufacturing techniques, such as for applications in polymer based microfluidic systems, flexible sensors, and biomimetic dry adhesives. In another embodiment, polymer MEMS may be produced such as for use in biological and ‘wet’ applications, or for direct contact with the ambient environment for long periods of time. An advantage of polymer MEMS and microfabrication according to embodiments of the present invention is the potential for large-scale patterning. By avoiding silicon entirely and using either thin sheets or flexible films of plastic as substrates, large areas of microstructures can be produced such as by combining standard lithography techniques along with advanced soft lithography technologies for applications ranging from MEMS and microfluidics to smart surfaces and intelligent materials.
Acrylic composed primarily of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) is one of the most widely used MEMS polymers and may be patterned using a variety of methods, including e-beam lithography, x-ray lithography, hot embossing, dry etching and laser ablation, but is substantially insensitive to most standard UV wavelengths used in MEMS photolithography. Recently, novel techniques using an uncollimated 254 nm exposure of commercial acrylic have proven viable for producing microfluidic channels. While the original use for this patterning method was for very thin layers of PMMA, the penetration depth at this wavelength in commercial acrylics can be several hundred micrometers, allowing the definition of deep structures without requiring expensive x-ray sources or dry etching technology. Through modification of commercially available large area 254 nm light sources like those used for DNA crosslinking or water purification, the effects of different additives, molecular weights and developers on the quality, reliability and yield of large area PMMA lithography may be applied to develop bulk polymer micromachining processes. A potential benefit of this technology is to convert low aspect ratio patterning through direct printing or stamping, or lithography into high aspect ratio features over very large areas (such as several square feet). Given the fabrication versatility of PMMA, embodiments of the invention may incorporate colloidal nano-lithography, and laser ablation to produce features ranging from nano to macroscale in a single process. Applications for such processes may include large-scale microfluidic fabrication technology with both high resolution and variable channel depths, and as polymer molds for casting microstructured surfaces in elastomers like polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), or polyurethanes, such as illustrated in the exemplary surface structures of
While commercial acrylic is a highly attractive material for large-scale micromachining, other polymers like polycarbonate, polystyrene and epoxies may also be implemented as large-scale microstructured materials in further embodiments.
Further embodiments of the present invention are directed to replicating the function of the feet of geckos with respect to their remarkable climbing capabilities. Hierarchal fibrillar structures on gecko feet split contact between millions of nanoscale fiber tips and climbing surfaces to produce adhesion through van der Waals interactions. The benefits to these adhesives include self-cleaning capabilities, superhydrophobic behavior, anisotropic (direction sensitive) adhesive strength, and long-term stability. One embodiment of the present invention is directed to manufacturing these materials on large scales with high yields, and correctly modeling their behavior for macroscale applications. In one embodiment, testing results on these adhesives indicate the existence of an optimal interlocking cap geometry for a given fiber material and size, and the critical importance of understanding peel failure behavior for microscale fibers. Although existing models of dry adhesive behavior work well for individual fibers or small areas under loads, they fail to account for inhomogeneous and tangential loading, or the probability of microscale defects reducing adhesive strength per fiber.
Further embodiments may be directed to varying the adhesive strength by varying fiber geometries, material properties, surface energies and environmental conditions. Yet a further embodiment provides a standardized test procedure for these materials that includes both micro and macroscale testing for peel, normal and shear strengths on smooth surfaces and materials with well-defined roughness. Specific contamination modes, cleaning procedures and long-term adhesion tests may also be provided to determine effects on macroscale adhesion performance, as that will be the most important for any real-world applications of these materials.
A drawback for conventional polymer MEMS is that electronic integration can be quite difficult. Although it is possible to adequately bond metals to some polymers for subsequent wirebonding and electrical packaging, the process is highly dependent on material surface properties, glass transition temperature and polymer thickness. In one embodiment provided, polymer MEMS devices may be provided incorporating nanopowders added to bulk polymers to add electrical and magnetic functionality to spin-coated, cast or injection molded polymer microstructures. In another embodiment, electrically conductive or magnetic composites may be used by themselves or integrated with metallic components for use with active polymer MEMS sensors and actuators and have the potential advantage to be printed or cast in arbitrary shapes and layouts. Nanopowders may be added to bulk polymers to add electrical and/or magnetic functionality to different materials, for example. Further embodiments provide for the manufacturing, testing, and application of novel composite materials to polymer MEMS and to integrate these materials into sensors and actuators embedded in smart skins and biomimetic surfaces, for example.
The exemplary embodiments herein described, including what is described in the Abstract, are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the invention to the precise forms disclosed. They are chosen and described to explain the principles of the invention and its application and practical use to allow others skilled in the art to comprehend its teachings. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing disclosure, various equivalent alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic that is described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. Further, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the present disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In this Detailed Description, numerous specific details are provided for a thorough understanding of embodiments of the disclosure. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the embodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the present disclosure.
The scope of the present disclosure fully encompasses other embodiments and is to be limited, accordingly, by nothing other than the appended claims, wherein any reference to an element being made in the singular is intended to mean “one or more”, and is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the above-described preferred embodiment and additional embodiments are hereby expressly incorporated by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, no requirement exists for an apparatus or method to address each and every problem sought to be resolved by the present disclosure, for such to be encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. However, that various changes and modifications in form, material, work-piece, and fabrication material detail may be made, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, as set forth in the appended claims, are also encompassed by the present disclosure.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/187,927 filed Feb. 24, 2014 and entitled BIOMIMETIC DRY ADHESIVES AND METHODS OF PRODUCTION THEREFOR; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/905,065 filed Oct. 14, 2010 and entitled BIOMIMETIC DRY ADHESIVES AND METHODS OF PRODUCTION THEREFOR; which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/251,667 filed Oct. 14, 2009 and entitled DIRECT MOLDING OF DRY ADHESIVES WITH ANISOTROPIC PEEL STRENGTH USING OFFSET LIFT-OFF PHOTORESIST MOLD, and also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/292,835 filed Jan. 6, 2010 and entitled BIOMEMETIC DRY ADHESIVES AND METHODS OF PRODUCTION THEREFOR. This application also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/836,573 filed Jun. 18, 2013 and entitled COMPRESSION, EXTRUSION AND INJECTION MOLDING OF INTERLOCKING DRY ADHESIVE MICROSTRUCTURES WITH FLEXIBLE MOLD TECHNOLOGY. This application hereby incorporates by reference the contents of all of the above-referenced related applications in their entirety:
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61251667 | Oct 2009 | US | |
| 61292835 | Jan 2010 | US | |
| 61836573 | Jun 2013 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12905065 | Oct 2010 | US |
| Child | 14187927 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | 14187927 | Feb 2014 | US |
| Child | 14308635 | US |
