Acoustofluidic waveguides for fabrication of localized polymeric microstructure arrays
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Acoustofluidic waveguides for fabrication of localized polymeric microstructure arrays Chenyang Han2 · Yancheng Wang1,2 · Deqing Mei1,2 Received: 31 May 2020 / Accepted: 27 July 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Polymer-based substrate with patterned microstructures has been widely utilized for the development of cell chip in tissue engineering and/or flexible sensors in robotics. The key challenge is to fabricate the polymer-based substrate with the localized patterned microstructures. In this study, we presented a method to fabricate localized microstructures by standing surface acoustic wave (SSAW) and user-defined waveguides. To investigate the working mechanism, we developed a 3D numerical model to analyze the induced acoustic pressure distribution and final generated microstructures. Results demonstrated that the utilized waveguide could localize the acoustic pressure field in a specified region within the prepared photosensitive fluid film based on Rayleigh’s radiation theory and capillary wave motion. By adjusting the SSAW driven modes and using different shaped waveguides, both numerical modeling and experimental tests showed that the localized microstructures can form on the liquid film and then successfully fabricated using ultraviolet (UV) solidification. Therefore, our developed method by using the SSAW and waveguide provides a promising alternative process to fabricate the polymer-based microstructure with localized patterns, and the fabricated polymer-based microstructures could be used for the development of flexible sensors, actuator, and/or soft robotics in future applications. Keywords Patterned microstructure · Standing surface acoustic wave (SSAW) · Waveguide · Capillary wave motion · Microfluidics · UV solidification
1 Introduction Cell-laden chips and wearable electronic devices rely on polymer-based microstructures [1]. The biocompatible hydrogel-based substrates with different patterned microstructures are designed and fabricated to provide a biomimetic environment [2] and play an important role in cell differentiation and mature transformation. The flexible substrate with patterned microstructure array, such as cylindrical-shaped pillar [3] and pyramid [4], have been utilized as the structural layers in piezoresistive and capacitive tactile sensors. They can improve the sensitivity and response speed of the tactile * Yancheng Wang [email protected] 1
State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technology of Zhejiang Province, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
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sensors. In addition, the patterned microstructures with the properties of surface hydrophobicity [5] and dry adhesion [6] can be used to mimic the bionic surfaces in shark skin, insect compound eyes, bio-soft robots, etc.[7]. The commonly used manufacturing process to fabricate polymer-based micro
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