Fabrication of Micro/Nano Dual Needle Structures with Morphological Gradient Based on Two-Photon Polymerization Laser Direct Writing with Proactive Focus Compensation

• Published in: Photonics Vol. 11; no. 2; p. 187
• Main Authors: Xu, Chenxi, Zhang, Chen, Zhao, Wei, Liu, Yining, Li, Ziyu, Wang, Zeyu, Lu, Baole, Wang, Kaige, Bai, Jintao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.02.2024
• Subjects: Atomic force microscopy; Compensation; Defocusing; Direct laser writing; dual needle structure; Equipment and supplies; Etching; Fabrication; femtosecond laser; Free radicals; Hexagonal lattice; Image analysis; Image processing; Lasers; morphological gradient; Morphology; Periodic structures; Photons; Physical properties; Piezoelectricity; Polymerization; proactive focus compensation; Scanning electron microscopy; Translation; two-photon absorption; United States > US; Germany
• ISSN: 2304-6732; 2304-6732
• DOI: 10.3390/photonics11020187

Micro/nano structures with morphological gradients possess unique physical properties and significant applications in various research domains. This study proposes a straightforward and precise method for fabricating micro/nano structures with morphological gradients utilizing single-voxel synchronous control and a nano-piezoelectric translation stage in a two-photon laser direct writing technique. To address the defocusing issue in large-scale fabrication, a methodology for laser focus dynamic proactive compensation was developed based on fluorescence image analysis, which can achieve high-precision compensation of laser focus within the entire range of the nano-piezoelectric translation stage. Subsequently, the fabrication of micro/nano dual needle structures with morphological gradients were implemented by employing different writing speeds and voxel positions. The minimum height of the tip in the dual needle structure is 80 nm, with a linewidth of 171 nm, and a dual needle total length reaching 200 μm. Based on SEM (scanning electron microscope) and AFM (atomic force microscope) characterization, the dual needle structures fabricated by the method proposed in this study exhibit high symmetry and nanoscale gradient accuracy. Additionally, the fabrication of hexagonal lattice periodic structures assembled from morphological gradient needle structures and the size gradient Archimedean spiral structures validate the capability of the single voxel-based fabrication and proactive focus compensation method for complex gradient structure fabrication.