Title: | Nanofabrication of Conductive Metallic Structures on Elastomeric Materials |
Author(s): | Tan EKW; Rughoobur G; Rubio-Lara J; Tiwale N; Xiao Z; Davidson CAB; Lowe CR; Occhipinti LG; |
Address: | "Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0FA, UK. ekwt2@cam.ac.uk. Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0FA, UK. Microsystems Technology Laboratories, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. Nanoscience Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0FF, UK. Institute of Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QT, UK. Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0FA, UK. lgo23@cam.ac.uk" |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-018-24901-2 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "Existing techniques for patterning metallic structures on elastomers are limited in terms of resolution, yield and scalability. The primary constraint is the incompatibility of their physical properties with conventional cleanroom techniques. We demonstrate a reliable fabrication strategy to transfer high resolution metallic structures of <500 nm in dimension on elastomers. The proposed method consists of producing a metallic pattern using conventional lithographic techniques on silicon coated with a thin sacrificial aluminium layer. Subsequent wet etching of the sacrificial layer releases the elastomer with the embedded metallic pattern. Using this method, a nano-resistor with minimum feature size of 400 nm is fabricated on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and applied in gas sensing. Adsorption of solvents in the PDMS causes swelling and increases the device resistance, which therefore enables the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Sensitivity to chloroform and toluene vapor with a rapid response (~30 s) and recovery (~200 s) is demonstrated using this PDMS nano-resistor at room temperature" |
Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINETan, Edward K W Rughoobur, Girish Rubio-Lara, Juan Tiwale, Nikhil Xiao, Zhuocong Davidson, Colin A B Lowe, Christopher R Occhipinti, Luigi G eng England 2018/04/28 Sci Rep. 2018 Apr 26; 8(1):6607. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-24901-2" |