Fabrication of Bulk Tungsten Microstructure Arrays for Hydrophobic Metallic Surfaces Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Deep Etching

Autor: Zetian Wang, Yanming Xia, Lu Song, Jing Chen, Wei Wang
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Micromachines, Vol 15, Iss 6, p 807 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2072-666X
DOI: 10.3390/mi15060807
Popis: Hydrophobic surfaces have attracted great attention due to their ability to repel water, and metallic surfaces are particularly significant as they have several benefits, for example they self-clean and do not corrode in marine environments, but also have several applications in the aircraft, building and automobile industries. Tungsten is an ideal material for metallic surfaces due to its remarkable mechanical properties. However, conventional micromachining methods of micro- or nanostructures, including mechanical fabrication and laser and wet etching are incapable of balancing functionality, consistency and cost. Inspired by the etching process of silicon, deep etching of bulk tungsten has been developed to achieve versatile microstructures with the advantages of high efficiency, large scale and low cost. In this article, fabrication methods of tungsten-based hydrophobic surfaces using an ICP deep etching process were proposed. Micro- or hierarchical structure arrays with controllable sidewall profiles were fabricated by optimizing etching parameters, which then exhibited hydrophobicity with contact angles of up to 131.8°.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals