Direct Write Fabrication of Polymer Fibers for Microscale Applications

A new direct write technique has been developed for processing viscous polymer solutions into suspended, three-dimensionally-oriented polymer fibers. This process has been successfully implemented to produce fibers from multiple materials including poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWNT)-doped PMMA, and biodegradable poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA). Process characterization performed with PMMA suggests that fiber diameter is controllable through modulation of process geometry and/or polymer solution properties. Furthermore, suspended microchannels have been produced by employing directly written fibers as sacrificial structures.