RSC Applied Interfaces publishes interdisciplinary work with an applied focus, which can be read for free here. To celebrate the excellent articles that have been published so far in our journal, we asked some of our authors to discuss their work in more detail.
In this post, we hear from Professor Oscurato and PhD student I Komang Januariyasa at University of Naples “Federico II” , as they discuss their recently published article entitled ‘Molding three-dimensional azopolymer microstructures with holographically structured light‘.
Discover the full article here
Molding three-dimensional azopolymer microstructures with holographically structured light
I Komang Januariyasa, Francesco Reda, Fabio Borbone, Marcella Salvatore and Stefano L. Oscurato
RSC Appl. Interfaces, 2024,1, 1198-1207, DOI: 10.1039/D4LF00092G
Insights from the authors
The fabrication of complex three-dimensional structures at nano- and microscale remains an important challenge for advancements in science and technology. The available lithographic approaches rely on complex strategies, such as direct laser writing, in which structures are built on the surface voxel-by-voxel. High-throughput strategies, such as mask photolithography, lack the ability to produce complex architectures and the need to change physical masks to produce different structures.
In this study, we propose a versatile method to produce programmable three-dimensional microstructures based on molding azobenzene-containing polymers through Computer-Generated Holography (CGH). Azopolymers directly transform light illumination into a photo-driven mass migration which can be controlled by intensity gradient and polarization. The CGH technique can generate any intensity pattern of light and it is fully computer operated. In the experiment, we initially prepared the azopolymer surface with a micropillar array using soft lithography. We then illuminated the azopolymer micropillars with a rationally designed intensity gradient pattern of light by CGH. This method enabled the fabrication of diverse new three-dimensional microstructures, including concave, convex, slanted, and pyramid shapes, all starting from a single pristine array of microstructures. Furthermore, we demonstrated a high spatial programmability in which different shapes can be deterministically created in different parts of the surface area with one single exposure.
We believe this work may offer a cost effective strategy for creating diverse 3D structures on surfaces with spatial programmability for applications in wettability, optics, and general surface engineering.
Meet the authors
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I Komang Januariyasa completed his Master’s degree in Physics at Universitas Gadjah Mada in 2019. Currently, he is finishing his Ph.D. program in Physics at the University of Naples “Federico II” and is expected to graduate in 2025. During the PhD program, he has been working on the strategy for the fabrication of functional surfaces using azopolymer and different optical strategies. |
 Stefano Luigi Oscurato
Stefano Luigi Oscurato is Assistant Professor at the Physics department “Ettore Pancini”, University of Naples “Federico II” (Italy), since 2021. He received his PhD in Physics from University of Naples in 2018. His successive postdoctoral research fellowships involved research periods in Italy and USA, working on the development of optical techniques to investigate structural and optical properties of polymeric and nanostructured materials. Prof. Oscurato received the ERC Starting Grant in 2024 and is currently leading the Holographic Lithography research group, which focuses on the development of holo-photolithographic techniques for all-optical fabrication and tuning of reconfigurable flat diffractive components and functional structured surfaces. See LinkedIn profile here. |
I Komang Januariyasa
RSC Applied Interfaces is a dedicated, interdisciplinary reference journal for cutting-edge research on the applications of surfaces and interfaces. In addition to the applied focus, work considered for publication in RSC Applied Interfaces is expected to be highly original and of top quality. The journal seeks to report major scientific advances beyond the state of the art, at the cutting edge of this interdisciplinary field.