Computational electrohydrodynamics in the fabrication of hollow polymer microstructures

Abstract

Electric Field Assisted Capillarity is a novel process which has the potential for the fabrication of hollow polymer microstructures as a single step process. The process has been shown to work experimentally on a microscale using PDMS. The process makes use of both the electrohydrodynamics of polymers at a microscale and also the capillary force on the polymer caused by a low contact angle on a heavily wetted surface. Discussed in this paper are the results of a two-dimensional numerical simulation of the process. The results presented here are for the an angular mask producing microchannels and demonstrate how differing contact angles on the top mask effect the thickness of the top of the microstructures and also whether the fabrication of the microstructure is possible at all.