Patterning of polymer-supported metal films by microcutting

The ability to micropattern materials is of great importance for manufacturing advanced electronic, optical and mechanical devices ranging from displays to biosensors1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. For this purpose a variety of methods have been developed, including X-ray, electron-beam and photo-lithography7, 8, microcontact printing9, embossing10, 11, micromoulding8, 12 and cold welding13. But these techniques are often of restricted applicability, involve a multitude of elaborate and cumbersome processing steps, or require aggressive chemistry. Here we describe a simple and versatile way to create well resolved metallic structures on polymer substrates, which is based on solid-state embossing of metal-coated polymer films. Ductility of both the metal layer and the polymer substrate permits the metal to be cut into surprisingly regular, micrometre-size structures. We illustrate the method by preparing patterned electrically conducting structures, highly efficient infrared polarizers and polarization-dependent colour filters.