Polydimethylsiloxane Thin Films Research Articles

Development of embedded Mach–Zehnder optical waveguide structures in polydimethylsiloxane thin films by proton beam writing

A focused 750keV proton microbeam was used to fabricate an embedded Mach–Zehnder (MZ) optical waveguide in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film for interferometer application. The sample position was precisely controlled by a mechanical stage together with scanning microbeam to form an embedded MZ waveguide structure within an area of 0.3mm×40mm. The MZ waveguides with core size of 8μm was successfully embedded in PDMS film at a depth of 18μm by 750keV proton microbeam with fluences from 10 to 100nC/mm2. The MZ waveguides were coupled with an IR fiber-laser with a center wavelength of 1550nm and evaluated by using the transmitted intensity images from an IR vidicon camera. The results indicate that the embedded MZ waveguide structure in PDMS achieved single spot light propagation, which is necessary for building optical switching circuits based on polymer MZ waveguides.

Hybrid elastomer-nanotube matrix for hydrophobic surface functionalization

Surface functionalization studies for re-creating a ‘Lotus Leaf’ effect (super-hydrophobic) have been carried out for the past few decades, looking for the material which can provide high transparency, low energy surface, and high surface roughness. However, the conventional fabrication processes of super-hydrophobic surface proposed by the previous researchers were reported to be complicated. Therefore, in this research, we had created an alternative ways to produce near-super-hydrophobic surfaces using simplest processing routes with a controlled modification. The fabrication of polydimethylsiloxane/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) hybrid thin film matrix on glass to produce near-super-hydrophobic surfaces is presented in this paper. There are three important parameters studied in producing hydrophobic surfaces based on the hybrid thin films; concentration of polydimethylsiloxane, concentration of MWCNTs, and droplet sizes, respectively. The study is carried out using polydimethylsiloxane of varied cross linker ratio (10:1, 30:1, and 50:1) with MWCNTs concentration of 1, 10, and 15 mg for 0.5, 2.0, 5.0, and 10 μl droplet sizes. The resulting hybrid elastomer-nanotube matrix thin films show that hydrophobicity increased with increasing cross linker ratio and MWCNTs percentage in the polydimethylsiloxane solution. A near-super-hydrophobic surface can be created when using 15 mg of MWCNTs with 50:1 cross linker ratio polydimethylsiloxane thin films, measured on 10 μl droplet size. The hybrid thin films produced can be potentially tailored to the application of biosensors, MEMS, and even commercial devices.

Plasmon optics and thermal dissipation in nanocomposite thin films

ABSTRACTOptical properties and thermal relaxation dynamics of resonantly excited plasmons are important in applications for optoelectronics, biomedicine, energy, and catalysis. Geometric optics of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin films containing uniformly or asymmetrically distributed polydisperse reduced AuNPs or uniformly distributed monodisperse solution-synthesized AuNPs were recently evaluated using a compact linear algebraic sum. Algebraic calculation of geometric transmission, reflection, and attenuation for AuNP-PDMS films provides a simple, workable alternative to effective medium approximations, computationally expensive methods, and fitting of experimental data. This approach allows for the summative optical responses of a sequence of 2D elements comprising a 3D assembly to be analyzed. Thin PDMS films containing 3-7 micron layers of reduced AuNPs were fabricated with a novel diffusive-reduction synthesis technique. Rapid diffusive reduction of AuNPs into asymmetric PDMS thin films provided superior photothermal response relative to thicker films with AuNPs reduced throughout, with a photon-to-heat conversion of up to 3000°C/watt which represents 3-230-fold increase over previous AuNP-functionalized systems. Later work showed that introduction of AuNPs into PDMS enhanced thermoplasmonic dissipation coincident with internal reflection of incident resonant irradiation. Measured thermal emission and dynamics of AuNP-PDMS thin films exceeded emission and dynamics attributable by finite element analysis to Mie absorption, Fourier heat conduction, Rayleigh convection, and Stefan-Boltzmann radiation. Refractive-index matching experiments and measured temperature profiles indicated AuNP-containing thin films internally reflected light and dissipated power transverse to the film surface. Enhanced thermoplasmonic dissipation from metal-polymer nanocomposite thin films could affect opto- and bio-electronic implementation of these systems.

Archaeal Tetraether Free Standing Lipid Membranes in a PDMS and PCB based Fluidic Platform

The polar lipid fraction E (PLFE) isolated from the thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius contains exclusively bipolar tetraether lipids, which are able to form extraordinarily stable vesicular membranes against a number of chemical, physical and mechanical stressors. In this study, we demonstrated that PLFE can also form free-standing “planar” membranes on micro-pores (∼100 micrometer) of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin films embedded in printed circuit board (PCB)-based fluidics. Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), we found that the dielectric properties of PLFE planar membranes suspended on the PDMS films are distinctly different from those obtained from diester lipid and triblock copolymer membranes. In addition to resistance (R) and capacitance (C) that were seen in all the membranes examined, PLFE planar membranes showed an inductance (L) component. Furthermore, PLFE planar membranes displayed a relatively large membrane resistance, suggesting that, among the membranes examined, PLFE planar membrane would be a better matrix for studying channel proteins and transmembrane events. PLFE planar membranes also exhibited a sharp decrease in phase angle with the frequency of the input AC signal at ∼1 MHz, which could be utilized to develop sensors for monitoring PLFE membrane integrity in fluidics. Since the stability of free-standing planar lipid membranes increases with increasing membrane packing tightness and PLFE lipid membranes are more tightly packed than those made of diester lipids, PLFE free-standing planar membranes are expected to be considerably stable. All these salient features make PLFE planar membranes particularly attractive for model studies of channel proteins and transmembrane events and for high-throughput drug screening.

Hydrophobic, electrostatic, and dynamic polymer forces at silicone surfaces modified with long-chain bolaform surfactants.

Surfactant self-assembly on surfaces is an effective way to tailor the complex forces at and between hydrophobic-water interfaces. Here, the range of structures and forces that are possible at surfactant-adsorbed hydrophobic surfaces are demonstrated: certain long-chain bolaform surfactants-containing a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mid-block domain and two cationic α, ω-quarternary ammonium end-groups-readily adsorb onto thin PDMS films and form dynamically fluctuating nanostructures. Through measurements with the surface forces apparatus (SFA), it is found that these soft protruding nanostructures display polymer-like exploration behavior at the PDMS surface and give rise to a long-ranged, temperature- and rate-dependent attractive bridging force (not due to viscous forces) on approach to a hydrophilic bare mica surface. Coulombic interactions between the cationic surfactant end-groups and negatively-charged mica result in a rate-dependent polymer bridging force during separation as the hydrophobic surfactant mid-blocks are pulled out from the PDMS interface, yielding strong adhesion energies. Thus, (i) the versatile array of surfactant structures that may form at hydrophobic surfaces is highlighted, (ii) the need to consider the interaction dynamics of such self-assembled polymer layers is emphasized, and (iii) it is shown that long-chain surfactants can promote robust adhesion in aqueous solutions.

Tunable lens driven by dielectric elastomer actuator with ionic electrodes

A tunable lens driven by a dielectric elastomer actuator is developed. A solution of NaCl was used as the deformable lens and one of the electrodes for applying a bias voltage across the actuator. The dielectric elastomer actuator was made of a curved polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin film sandwiched between a gold electrode and the NaCl solution. When a bias voltage was applied, the electrostatic force induced a radial compression, causing a lateral deflection of the PDMS. The radius of the curvature of the NaCl lens was consequently changed. The variation of the focal length under different bias voltages was characterised separately using two different approaches, and consistent results were obtained. The lens diameter was 4 mm. The focus lens can be tuned from 16.1 to 13.1 mm when the bias voltage is increased from 0 to 900 V.

Extremely stretchable all-carbon-nanotube transistor on flexible and transparent substrates

The response of carbon-nanotube (CNT) transistors to large tensile strains has not been studied because of lack of stretchable devices. In this letter, we fabricate extremely stretchable single-wall CNT (SWCNT) conductive coatings on flexible and transparent elastomer substrates. We then measure the mechanical and electrical properties of the coatings and found excellent stretchability (Poisson ratio ≈ 0.31). The sheet resistances of the coatings remain largely unchanged under a large tensile strain. We then construct an active transistor on SWCNT thin films, which serve as active channel and electrodes, with polydimethylsiloxane thin film as the gate dielectric layer. The transistor exhibits excellent mechanical stability, showing no noticeable change (less than 5%) in electrical performance up to a large strain of 22.5%. The stretchable SWCNT thin-film transistor exhibits a current on–off ratio of ∼50 and field-effect mobility of ∼24 cm2 V−1 s−1, with 75% transmissivity in visible wavelength. We also found that on–off ratio increases with increased stretch strain, while mobility initially increases and then decreases with increased stretch strain.

Tunable electromechanical actuation in silicone dielectric film

Dielectric elastomer actuator films were fabricated on transparent conductive electrode using bi-component poly(dimethyl)siloxane (PDMS). PDMS is a well-known material in microfluidics and soft lithography for biomedical applications, being easy to process, low cost, biocompatible and transparent. Moreover its mechanical properties can be easily tuned by varying the mixing ratio between the oligomer base and the crosslinking agent. In this work we investigate the chemical composition and the electromechanical properties of PDMS thin film verifying for the first time the tuneable actuation response by simply modifying the amount of the curing agent. We demonstrate that, for a 20:1 ratio of base:crosslinker mixture, a striking 150% enhancement of Maxwell strain occurs at 1 Hz actuating frequency.

Automated Lipid Membrane Formation Using a Polydimethylsiloxane Film for Ion Channel Measurements

A black lipid membrane (BLM) is a powerful platform for studying the electrophysiology of cell membranes as well as transmembrane proteins. However, BLMs have disadvantages in terms of stability, accessibility, and transportability, which preclude their industrial applications. To resolve these issues, frozen membrane precursor (MP) was devised to improve the transportability and storability of BLMs. As described previously, MP is a storable and transportable platform that can be delivered to the point-of-use, where BLMs are automatically formed upon thawing at room temperature. However, MP has an inconsistent thinning-out time, ranging from 30 min to 24 h, as well as a low success rate of BLM formation (~27%), which make it undesirable for practical use. In our study, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was introduced as a replacement for conventionally used Teflon film to control thinning-out time. As such, we used a PDMS thin-film, a porous-structured hydrophobic polymer, and squalene, a high viscosity solvent, to facilitate membrane formation, whereas the absorption rates of solvents were controlled to achieve consistent BLM formation time. We successfully reduced thinning-out time down to <1 h as well as enhanced the success rate of BLM formation to greater than 80%. Moreover, we demonstrated the feasibility of our platform for use in drug screening using gramicidin A and guanidine.

Bioactivation of Plane and Patterned PDMS Thin Films by Wettability Engineering

This study shows how surface properties of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin films, such as wettability and cellular adhesive behavior, can be influenced by surface modification and patterning, to improve the suitability of such modified PDMS for biomedical applications. For that purpose, different types of PDMS (i.e., soft (S-) and hard (H-) PDMS) and differently patterned surfaces were prepared by a commercially available tool which is originally used to produce patterned PDMS stamps for substrate conformal imprint lithography. To increase surface wettability and cellular adhesive behavior, PDMS surfaces were modified by O2, Ar/O2, Ar, and forming gas (N2/H2) plasma treatment. It is shown that, especially, plasma treatment using N2/H2 is a promising method to modify PDMS surfaces towards enhanced wettability. Such modified PDMS surfaces exhibit water contact angle values (WCA) of nearly 0° and demonstrate enhanced attachment of melanoma cells. Differences between as-prepared and plasma-treated S- and H-PDMS can be observed, where H-PDMS shows smaller WCA than S-PDMS. Even plasma-treated PDMS surfaces, however, exhibit only temporary hydrophilicity, due to hydrophobic recovery. To overcome this problem, plasma-treated PDMS films were stored in ethanol and water, where low and constant WCAs for several months could be achieved. Finally, the influence of surface topography of different patterned PDMS thin films on the adhesion behavior of melanoma cells was investigated. It can be concluded that chemical as well as structural modifications of PDMS enable to gradually control the adhesive properties of cells on their surfaces. This has a high technological impact since regulated and topologically stable adhesion and repulsion of cells by their scaffolds has high potency for in vitro as well as in vivo applications.

Preparation of self-cleaning surfaces with a dual functionality of superhydrophobicity and photocatalytic activity

Thin film of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was deposited on SiO2 nanoparticles by chemical vapor deposition, and SiO2 became completely hydrophobic after PDMS coating. Mixtures of TiO2 and PDMS-coated SiO2 nanoparticles with various relative ratios were prepared, and distributed on glass surfaces, and water contact angles and photocatalytic activities of these surfaces were studied. Samples consisting of TiO2 and PDMS-coated SiO2 with a ratio of 7:3 showed a highly stable superhydrophobicity under UV irradiation with a water contact angle of 165° and UV-driven photocatalytic activity for decomposition of methylene blue and phenol in aqueous solution. Our process can be exploited for fabricating self-cleaning surfaces with dual functionality of superhydrophobicity and photocatalytic activity at the same time.

Design, fabrication, and characterization of archaeal tetraether free-standing planar membranes in a PDMS- and PCB-based fluidic platform.

The polar lipid fraction E (PLFE) isolated from the thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius contains exclusively bipolar tetraether lipids, which are able to form extraordinarily stable vesicular membranes against a number of chemical, physical, and mechanical stressors. PLFE liposomes have thus been considered appealing biomaterials holding great promise for biotechnology applications such as drug delivery and biosensing. Here we demonstrated that PLFE can also form free-standing "planar" membranes on micropores (∼100 μm) of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin films embedded in printed circuit board (PCB)-based fluidics. To build this device, two novel approaches were employed: (i) an S1813 sacrificial layer was used to facilitate the fabrication of the PDMS thin film, and (ii) oxygen plasma treatment was utilized to conveniently bond the PDMS thin film to the PCB board and the PDMS fluidic chamber. Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, we found that the dielectric properties of PLFE planar membranes suspended on the PDMS films are distinctly different from those obtained from diester lipid and triblock copolymer membranes. In addition to resistance (R) and capacitance (C) that were commonly seen in all the membranes examined, PLFE planar membranes showed an inductance (L) component. Furthermore, PLFE planar membranes displayed a relatively large membrane resistance, suggesting that, among the membranes examined, PLFE planar membrane would be a better matrix for studying channel proteins and transmembrane events. PLFE planar membranes also exhibited a sharp decrease in phase angle with the frequency of the input AC signal at ∼1 MHz, which could be utilized to develop sensors for monitoring PLFE membrane integrity in fluidics. Since the stability of free-standing planar lipid membranes increases with increasing membrane packing tightness and PLFE lipid membranes are more tightly packed than those made of diester lipids, PLFE free-standing planar membranes are expected to be considerably stable. All these salient features make PLFE planar membranes particularly attractive for model studies of channel proteins and transmembrane events and for high-throughput drug screening and artificial photosynthesis. This work can be extended to nanopores of PDMS thin films in microfluidics and eventually aid in membrane-based new lab-on-a-chip applications.

A flexible dry micro-dome electrode for ECG monitoring

This paper describes a flexible dry electrode with micro domes on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for the monitoring of electrocardiogram (ECG). The fabrication procedure of this microstructure was mainly composed of melting photoresist, double-PDMS-molding, nickel (Ni) plating and encapsulation between two thin PDMS films. To investigate the performance of the fabricated micro-dome electrode, three dry electrodes with different arrays were fabricated to conduct the contact impendence measurements. ECG signals were measured by both the standard wet electrodes (Ag/AgCl) and dry electrodes. Experimental results showed the dry electrode provided signal quality that was comparable to the standard wet electrode without the need for skin preparation or electrolytic solution. The proposed dry electrode is more comfortable, with less skin irritation and requires no conductive gel. Thus, this flexible dry micro-dome electrode could find potential biomedical applications in health monitoring.

PDMS-film coated on PCB for AC impedance sensing of biological cells.

Microfluidic impedance sensor has been introduced as a cost effective platform in biological cell sensing and counting since several decades ago. Conventional microfluidic impedance sensor usually requires the patterned gold electrodes directly in contact with the carrying buffer to measure the electrical current change due to the blockage of cells. However, patterning metal electrode probes on the silicon or glass substrate is a non-trivial task, which increases the fabrication cost of the impedance sensor. In this paper, we demonstrate an alternating current (AC) impedance based microfluidic cytometer built on a printed circuit board (PCB) coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin film. In addition, circulating tumor cells (Hela cells) are used to successfully demonstrate the feasibility of the microfluidic AC impedance sensor in tumor cell detection. The electrodes pre-deposited PCB costs less than US$2.00 and is widely available in the market. This device has a good potential for point-of-care diagnosis in resource-poor settings.

Insitu growth of IRMOF-3 combined with ionic liquids to prepare solid-phase microextraction fibers

A superior solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber-coating material, IRMOF-3@ILs/PDMS, was prepared by the in situ growth of IRMOF-3 onto stainless-steel wires and protection with ionic liquids (ILs) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The ILs can efficiently prevent the substantial cracking of IRMOF-3 caused by moisture, and a thin PDMS film can protect the IRMOF-3@ILs material to achieve a much better extraction efficiency as well as excellent resistance to high temperature and high humidity. This IRMOF-3@ILs/PDMS coating possessed a porous structure, a rough surface and an increased lifespan (by at least 100 times) compared with that of IRMOF-3. The coating was evaluated by analyzing four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water, and good precision (<7.7%), low detection limits (12.0–15.4ngL−1), and wide linearity (50–20,000ngL−1) were achieved under the optimized conditions. The fiber was successfully applied to the sensitive analysis of PAHs in rainwater by coupling it with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS).

Soft Polydimethylsiloxane Thin Elastomeric Films by In Situ Polymerization to be Used as Dielectricum in Actuators

A low‐viscosity, solvent‐free process for the fabrication of thin silicone films for dielectric elastomer actuators is presented. Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane and specially designed co‐monomers that function as cross‐linkers are pre‐polymerized to a liquid of low viscosity. This liquid is used to prepare thin films, which are then fully polymerized to a highly transparent, cross‐linked elastomer. The mechanical and electromechanical properties of the films are easily tuned by altering the amount of cross‐linker co‐monomer used.

Gold Nanoparticle–Polydimethylsiloxane Thin Films Enhance Thermoplasmonic Dissipation by Internal Reflection

Thermal relaxation dynamics of resonantly excited plasmons is important in optoelectronic, medical, and catalytic applications. This work shows introducing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into thin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films enhanced thermoplasmonic dissipation coincident with internal reflection of incident resonant irradiation. Measured thermal emission and dynamics of AuNP–PDMS thin films exceeded emission and dynamics attributable by finite element analysis to Mie absorption, Fourier heat conduction, Rayleigh convection, and Stefan–Boltzmann radiation. Refractive-index matching experiments and measured temperature profiles indicated AuNP-containing thin films internally reflected light and dissipated power transverse to the film surface. Enhanced thermoplasmonic dissipation from metal–polymer nanocomposite thin films could affect opto- and bioelectronic implementation of these systems.

Passivation of Magnetic Tunnel Junction Stacks with Polydimethylsiloxane Thin Films

Passivation of Magnetic Tunnel Junction Stacks with Polydimethylsiloxane Thin Films

Development of a Skin-Like Tactile Sensor Array for Curved Surface

In this paper, we develop a skin-like tactile sensor array to measure the contact pressure of curved surfaces. The sensor array is laminated into a thin film 3 mm in thickness and can easily be wrapped around a pencil without damaging its skin-like structure. So far, we have achieved the array containing 8 × 16 sensor elements. Its spatial resolution is 1 element per 9 mm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> area and it can measure the pressure up to 360 kPa. The sensor-array patch contains three layers. The upper and lower layers are polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin films embedded with the conductor strips formed by PDMS-based silver nanowires (AgNWs) networks. The middle layer is formed by the mixing of nickel powder with liquid PDMS for contact force measurement. Experimental tests have demonstrated that conductor strips on the upper layer can maintain their resistances ~ 23 Ω with increase when the tensile strain is up to 50%. Noted is the conductor made with carbon nanotubes can keep its conductivity unchanged for up to only 40% tensile strain. Through fatigue tests, it is observed that the measured AgNWs/PDMS conductor strip exhibits low and stable resistances. This is one of the most desired behaviors of the stretchable interconnects for signal transmission. The integrated sensor system can successfully measure the contact pressure induced by objects of different shapes. It can be applied on curved or non-planar surfaces in robots or medical devices for force detection and feedback.

Methods to ease the release of thin polydimethylsiloxane films from difficult substrates

Silicone elastomers are used as dielectric electroactive polymers for making actuators, generators, sensors, and as artificial muscles in medical applications. Current requirements in the actuator manufacturing put a strict limitation on the thickness of the elastomers, such that a maximum permissible thickness is around 25–50 µm. The relatively small Young's modulus for these elastomers is a requirement for actuation capabilities. However, peeling and release of such films during manufacture processes are very difficult. To ease the release of the films, techniques such as the use of release agents like surfactants and detergents, incorporating resins in the silicone matrix and grafting/adding low surface energy functionalities to the silicone elastomer have been tested. The methods used are required not to interfere with the Young's modulus and the dielectric permittivity in a negative way. Polysorbate-20, a non-ionic surfactant, fulfills all requirements and gives the lowest peel forces for the films. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.