Micro-fabrication on 3-D surface by electrostatic induced lithography

This paper presents a novel technology to pattern polymer material deposited onto 2D and 3D surfaces at the micro- and mesoscopic scales. Electro-hydrodynamic instability patterning (EHDIP) relies on the formation of features induced by electrostatic pressure. Unlike previous work reported elsewhere in nano-patterning, we focused on the fabrication of structures from the micro- to the meso-scale. The electrostatic induced lithography technique is proven to work with not only DC voltage but also AC voltage at frequency up to 1 KHz. Besides planar substrates, patterning is carried out on 3D surfaces like the inner surface of a half hollow cylinder, which is extremely difficult by traditional photolithography methods. The whole fabrication process is found to be fast, cost-effective and no photosensitive material is needed as in traditional photolithography. Applications of this technology include microfluidics, MEMS and wafer bumping.