Polymer relief microstructures by inkjet etching

Inkjet etching can create a variety of structures in polymer films, such as (arrays of) holes or grooves. These form by dissoln. where a solvent droplet hits the film, followed by droplet evapn. and polymer redeposition at its pinned contact line. The hole radius, R, scales with the total no. of droplets printed at a spot, Ndr, as R ~ (NdrVdr)0.34. The width of a groove, D, scales with the total no. of drops per unit length Ndr/L as D ~ (Ndr/L)0.56. Theory predicts an exponent of 1/3 and 1/2, resp. Possible applications of inkjet etching are in the field of rapid prototyping. Proof of principle for possible electronic applications is given by creating a patterned Cr/Au-bilayer. Printing a dispersion creates polymer composite structures with encapsulated nanoparticles, as shown by SFM. [on SciFinder (R)]