Self assembled structures on fluoro-polymers induced with laser light at 157 nm

Surface morphology and self assembled nano-structures induced on fluoro-polymer poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) (PTFEMA) with laser light at 157 nm were observed for the first time. At low laser fluence, the surface morphology of exposed/ non-exposed areas seem to be similar under atomic force microscopy investigation suggesting limited heating, surface stressing and chemical change of the remaining substrate. In contrast, semi-regularly spaced self organized surface topology with cylindrical structures, were formed on PTFEMA at 157 nm when the laser fluence exceeded 1 mJ/cm2. The experimental findings enable polymer surface preparation with 157 nm lasers for new applications such as DNA array fabrication with improved detection efficiency.