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Article

The Synthesis and Assembly Mechanism of Micro/Nano-Sized Polystyrene Spheres and Their Application in Subwavelength Structures

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung Li 32023, Taiwan
2
National Applied Research Laboratories, Taiwan Instrument Research Institute (TIRI), Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Micromachines 2024, 15(7), 841; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15070841 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 30 May 2024 / Revised: 27 June 2024 / Accepted: 27 June 2024 / Published: 28 June 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Micro/Nano-Fabrication)

Abstract

The following study involved the utilization of dispersion polymerization to synthesize micron/nano-sized polystyrene (PS) spheres, which were then deposited onto a silicon substrate using the floating assembly method to form a long-range monolayer. Subsequently, dry etching techniques were utilized to create subwavelength structures. The adjustment of the stabilizer polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), together with changes in the monomer concentration, yielded PS spheres ranging from 500 nm to 5.6 μm in diameter. These PS spheres were suspended in a mixture of alcohol and deionized water before being arranged using the floating assembly method. The resulting tightly packed particle arrangement is attributed to van der Waals forces, Coulomb electrostatic forces between the PS spheres, and surface tension effects. The interplay of these forces was analyzed to comprehend the resulting structure. Dry etching, utilizing the PS spheres as masks, enabled the exploration of the effects of etching parameters on the resultant structures. Unlike traditional dry etching methods controlling RF power and etching gases, in the present study, we focused on adjusting the oxygen flow rate to achieve cylindrical, conical, and parabolic etched structures.
Keywords: colloidal lithography; polystyrene (PS) spheres; floating assembly method; subwavelength structures colloidal lithography; polystyrene (PS) spheres; floating assembly method; subwavelength structures

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MDPI and ACS Style

Lee, Y.-C.; Wu, H.-K.; Peng, Y.-Z.; Chen, W.-C. The Synthesis and Assembly Mechanism of Micro/Nano-Sized Polystyrene Spheres and Their Application in Subwavelength Structures. Micromachines 2024, 15, 841. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15070841

AMA Style

Lee Y-C, Wu H-K, Peng Y-Z, Chen W-C. The Synthesis and Assembly Mechanism of Micro/Nano-Sized Polystyrene Spheres and Their Application in Subwavelength Structures. Micromachines. 2024; 15(7):841. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15070841

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lee, Yeeu-Chang, Hsu-Kang Wu, Yu-Zhong Peng, and Wei-Chun Chen. 2024. "The Synthesis and Assembly Mechanism of Micro/Nano-Sized Polystyrene Spheres and Their Application in Subwavelength Structures" Micromachines 15, no. 7: 841. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15070841

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