Focused energy of lasers breaks microscopic adhesion

 

Small objects tend to cling to everything. It's why parents dread hosting parties that involve confetti. It's why glitter is fun for crafts--until it finds its way onto everything else you touch.

 

When those small objects get stuck to you, a vacuum or lint roller can help remove them. But small, clingy objects are a serious problem in the growing field of nanomanufacturing. So what do engineers use when they have to build circuits that will fit on a piece of confetti? Researchers supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) have a solution: lasers.

 

Department Head and Tungchao Julia Lu Professor Placid Ferreira, along with MatSE Professor and Swanlund Chair John Rogers, and Yonggang Huang of Northwestern University, have studied the use of lasers to break the adhesion of tiny particles, particularly in the transfer printing process.