Smart Nematic Liquid Crystal Polymers for Micromachining Advances

Autor: Sébastien Dominici, Keynaz Kamranikia, Karine Mougin, Arnaud Spangenberg
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Micromachines, Vol 14, Iss 1, p 124 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2072-666X
DOI: 10.3390/mi14010124
Popis: The miniaturization of tools is an important step in human evolution to create faster devices as well as precise micromachines. Studies around this topic have allowed the creation of small-scale objects capable of a wide range of deformation to achieve complex tasks. Molecular arrangements have been investigated through liquid crystal polymer (LCP) to program such a movement. Smart polymers and hereby liquid crystal matrices are materials of interest for their easy structuration properties and their response to external stimuli. However, up until very recently, their employment at the microscale was mainly limited to 2D structuration. Among the numerous issues, one concerns the ability to 3D structure the material while controlling the molecular orientation during the polymerization process. This review aims to report recent efforts focused on the microstructuration of LCP, in particular those dealing with 3D microfabrication via two-photon polymerization (TPP). Indeed, the latter has revolutionized the production of 3D complex micro-objects and is nowadays recognized as the gold standard for 3D micro-printing. After a short introduction highlighting the interest in micromachines, some basic principles of liquid crystals are recalled from the molecular aspect to their implementation. Finally, the possibilities offered by TPP as well as the way to monitor the motion into the fabricated microrobots are highlighted.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals