| Wed November 10th 2010 15:00 ZH286 | Seminar | Elastocapillarity at the microscale: surface-tension driven fabrication of 3D microstructures Joost van Honschoten |
Details:In this talk a short description is given of the fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures by means of capillary forces. Using an origami-like technique, planar silicon nitride structures of various geometries can be folded to produce three-dimensional objects of 50-100 micrometer size. Capillarity is a particularly effective mechanism since surface tension forces dominate over bulk forces at small scales. The spontaneous evaporation of water forms the driving mechanism for this microfabrication technique. Therefore the actuating liquid disappears in the final structure. A model describing the elastocapillary interaction of the folding process is presented and compared with experimental results. It is seen that by tailoring the elastic and capillary properties a variety of three-dimensional micro-objects can be realized. | ||
