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Micromachines
Special Issues
Smart Functional Micro/Nano Structured Surfaces
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Smart Functional Micro/Nano Structured Surfaces

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "D：Materials and Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 2276

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shuaizhong Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Interests: bioinspired smart functional 4D structures; micro-actuators and micro-sensors; microfluidics; small-scale soft robotics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Wangchang Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
Interests: structural and functional composite; metamaterials; soft magnetic composite; microinductor in electronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Xinghao Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center of Advanced Lubrication and Seal Materials, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China
Interests: magnetic materials; micro/nanofabrication; precise manipulation; micro/nanotribology
Prof. Dr. Yichao Tang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
Interests: miniature machines; biomedical devices; small-scale soft robotics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Smart functional micro/nano structured surfaces has emerged as a promising avenue for creating materials with tailored properties and functionalities, opening up new opportunities for various applications in diverse fields such as electronics, energy, healthcare, marine navigation and aerospace. Fascinating examples of smart functional micro/nano structured surfaces are (1) superhydrophobic surfaces capable of self-cleaning, anti-icing, and anti-fouling; (2) self-healing surfaces possessing scratch-resistant and anti-corrosion capabilities; (3) smart optical surfaces with controlled light reflection, refraction, and absorption indexes; (4) tunable adhesive surfaces enabling controlled stickiness and/or slipperiness; (5) stimuli-responsive surfaces for robotics and microfluidics. Nature has long been the inspiration for these smart surfaces including lotus leaves' water-repellent characteristics and gecko feet's adhesive capabilities. Advances in the micro/nano fabrication technologies and material science dramatically boost the fast development of this field. However, there are still challenges to overcome, such as scalability and cost-effectiveness of fabrication techniques, and versatility and durability of the fabricated surfaces. Accordingly, this Special Issue seeks to showcase research papers and review articles that focus on: (1) novel designs, fabrication, and control of smart functional micro/nano structured surfaces encompassing using new and smart materials and bioinspired and biomimetic strategies; and (2) new developments of their applications in electronic cooling, enhanced chemical reaction, enhanced heat transfer, anti-fouling, anti-icing, biomedicine, robotics and microfluidics, among others.

Dr. Shuaizhong Zhang
Dr. Wangchang Li
Prof. Dr. Xinghao Hu
Prof. Dr. Yichao Tang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • functional micro/nano structured surfaces: superhydrophicity, anti-fouling, anti-icing, self-cleaning, self-healing, tunable adhesion, etc.
  • stimuli-responsive structures: magnetic field, electronic field, acoustic field, pneumatic pressure, light, chemical, etc.
  • advanced micro/nano fabrication technologies
  • micro/nano robotics
  • micro/nano machines
  • microfluidics
  • micro-actuators and sensors
  • smart materials

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 6585 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Manufacturability of SU-8 Piezoelectric Composite Films for Microsystem Applications
by Irma Rocio Vazquez, Zeynel Guler and Nathan Jackson
Micromachines 2024, 15(3), 397; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15030397 - 14 Mar 2024
Viewed by 958
Abstract
Piezoelectric thin films are extensively used as sensing or actuating layers in various micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) applications. However, most piezoelectrics are stiff ceramics, and current polymer piezoelectrics are not compatible with microfabrication due to their low Curie Temperature. Recent polymer-composite piezoelectrics have gained [...] Read more.
Piezoelectric thin films are extensively used as sensing or actuating layers in various micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) applications. However, most piezoelectrics are stiff ceramics, and current polymer piezoelectrics are not compatible with microfabrication due to their low Curie Temperature. Recent polymer-composite piezoelectrics have gained interest but can be difficult to pattern. Photodefinable piezoelectric films could resolve these challenges by reducing the manufacturability steps by eliminating the etching process. But they typically have poor resolution and thickness properties. This study explores methods of enhancing the manufacturability of piezoelectric composite films by optimizing the process parameters and synthesis of SU-8 piezo-composite materials. Piezoelectric ceramic powders (barium titanate (BTO) and lead zirconate titanate (PZT)) were integrated into SU-8, a negative epoxy-based photoresist, to produce high-resolution composites in a non-cleanroom environment. I-line (365 nm) light was used to enhance resolution compared to broadband lithography. Two variations of SU-8 were prepared by thinning down SU-8 3050 and SU-8 3005. Different weight percentages of the piezoelectric powders were investigated: 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt.% along with varied photolithography processing parameters. The composites’ transmittance properties were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy and the films’ crystallinity was determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The 0–3 SU-8/piezo composites demonstrated resolutions < 2 μm while maintaining bulk piezoelectric coefficients d33 > 5 pm V−1. The films were developed with thicknesses >10 μm. Stacked layers were achieved and demonstrated significantly higher d33 properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Functional Micro/Nano Structured Surfaces)
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12 pages, 7318 KiB  
Article
The Implementation of Neural Networks for Polymer Mold Surface Evaluation
by Hana Vrbová, Milena Kubišová, Dagmar Měřínská, Martin Novák, Vladimir Pata, Jana Knedlová, Michal Sedlačík and Oldřich Šuba
Micromachines 2024, 15(1), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15010102 - 05 Jan 2024
Viewed by 850
Abstract
This paper presents the measurement and evaluation of the surfaces of molds produced using additive technologies. This is an emerging trend in mold production. The surfaces of such molds must be treated, usually using laser-based alternative machining methods. Regular evaluation is necessary because [...] Read more.
This paper presents the measurement and evaluation of the surfaces of molds produced using additive technologies. This is an emerging trend in mold production. The surfaces of such molds must be treated, usually using laser-based alternative machining methods. Regular evaluation is necessary because of the gradually deteriorating quality of the mold surface. However, owing to the difficulty in scanning the original surface of the injection mold, it is necessary to perform surface replication. Therefore, this study aims to describe the production of surface replicas for in-house developed polymer molds together with the determination of suitable descriptive parameters, the method of comparing variances, and the mean values for the surface evaluation. Overall, this study presents a new summary of the evaluation process of replicas of the surfaces of polymer molds. The nonlinear regression methodology provides the corresponding functional dependencies between the relevant parameters. The statistical significance of a neural network with two hidden layers based on the principle of Rosenblatt’s perceptron has been proposed and verified. Additionally, machine learning was utilized to better compare the original surface and its replica. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Functional Micro/Nano Structured Surfaces)
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