Localized Microstructures Fabrication Through Standing Surface Acoustic Wave and User-Defined Waveguides

Polymer-based substrates with patterned microstructure on the surfaces, e.g., cell culturing scaffolds, have been utilized in biomedical applications. This paper develops a novel method to fabricate the localized microstructure on the polymer-based substrate with the assistance of standing surface acoustic wave (SAW) and user-defined acoustic waveguides. The specific designed acoustic waveguides can localize the standing acoustic waves and transmit to the liquid film and excite patterned microstructures on the surface, then using ultraviolet (UV) to solidify the substrate with patterned microstructures. The structural design and fabrication of the SAW device and three different shaped acoustic waveguides are presented. Then, experimental setup and procedures to verify the polymer-substrate with localized microstructures fabrication are performed. By using the different shape of the acoustic waveguides, several types of patterned microstructures with different morphologies are successfully fabricated. Results demonstrated that the proposed fabrication method is an effective way to fabricate polymer-based substrate with localized patterned microstructures, which may have potential in the research on tissue engineering, cell-cell interaction, and other biomedical applications.

Patterned Microstructure Array Fabrication by Using a Novel Standing Surface Acoustic Wave Device

This paper develops a novel standing surface acoustic wave (SAW) device with three pairs of interdigital transducers (IDTs) to fabricate the patterned microstructure arrays with the assistance of ultraviolet (UV) polymerization. The working principle, structural design, and fabrication of the SAW device are presented. Then, experimental setup was conducted to investigate the fabrication process and method of the patterned microstructure arrays on a thin photosensitive polymer surface. By adjusting the working wavelength and input voltage and selecting the pairs of IDTs, several types of patterned microstructure arrays, such as linear and latticed undulate with different surface morphologies, could be fabricated. For the application of the microstructure arrays, L929 mouse fibroblasts are cultured on the surface with linear undulate microstructure arrays. Preliminary results showed that the cells aligned well with the direction of the patterned surface and the array can enhance the cell culturing. Therefore, using the developed SAW device with the assistance of UV polymerization is an effective method to fabricate the patterned microstructure arrays, which may have great potential in the applications of biomedical and/or microelectronic fields.

Patterned Microstructure Array Fabrication by Using a Novel Standing Surface Acoustic Wave Device

This paper develops a novel standing surface acoustic wave (SAW) device with three-pair of interdigital transducers (IDTs) to fabricate the patterned microstructure arrays with the assistance of ultraviolet (UV) polymerization. The working principle, structural design, and fabrication of the SAW device are presented. Then experimental setup was conducted to investigate the fabrication process and method of the patterned microstructure arrays on a thin liquid polymer surface. By adjusting the input wavelength and working voltage and selecting the pairs of IDTs, several types of patterned microstructure arrays, such as linear undulate and latticed undulate with different surface morphologies, could be fabricated. Results also demonstrated that the developed SAW device with the assistance of UV polymerization is an effective method to fabricate the patterned microstructure arrays, which may have great potential in the application of biomedical and microelectronic fields.

Fabrication of Aluminum Composites With Patterned Silicon Carbide Reinforcement Architecture by Semi-Solid Processing

Semi-solid powder processing is a promising technology, combining the advantages of semi-solid forming and powder metallurgy. In this study, spray deposition process combined with semi-solid powder processing was used to synthesize an aluminum alloy composite and to control its microstructure. Silicon carbide (SiC) reinforced aluminum alloy composites were fabricated with and without microstructure pattern. The influence of different composite microstructure on mechanical properties was analyzed by microstructure analysis, bend test and fracture analysis. Bend test results showed that patterned microstructure has the potential to significantly improve composite strength with minimal sacrifice of ductility.