Direct Surface Patterning of Microscale Well and Canal Structures by Photopolymerization of Liquid Crystals with Structured Light

Precise control of the surface topographies of polymer materials is key to developing high-performance materials and devices for a wide variety of applications, such as optical displays, micro/nanofabrication, photonic devices, and microscale actuators. In particular, photocontrolled polymer surfaces, such as photoinduced surface relief, have been extensively studied mainly through photochemical mass transport. In this study, we propose a novel method triggering the mass transport by photopolymerization of liquid crystals with structured light and demonstrate the direct formation of microscale well and canal structures on the surface of polymer films. The wells and canals with depths of several micrometers and high aspect ratios, which are 10 times larger than those of previously reported structures, were found to be aligned in the center of non-irradiated areas. Furthermore, such well and canal structures can be arranged in two dimensions by designing light patterns. Real-time observations of canal structure formation reveal that anisotropic molecular diffusion during photopolymerization leads to a directed molecular alignment and subsequent surface structure formation. We believe that our proposed approach to designing microscale surface topographies has promising applications in advanced optical and mechanical devices.