Polymer-Based Soft Topographical Features Functionalized By Magnetron Sputtering

We report on the feasibility of preparing nickel and niobium nitride coated cellulose acetate (CA) topographical features through a combination of template-synthesis and sputter deposition. Using femtosecond laser micromachining, a template was produced by patterning a fused silica substrate with a square array of holes of estimated depth >10 mu m. The template was subjected to CA polymer thin-film replication to create freestanding CA topographical features (i.e., the negative replica of the pattern on the template). The CA replicas were coated with thin layers of nickel and niobium nitride by magnetron sputtering to investigate the feasibility of functionalizing these soft topographical features. Preliminary results show that CA based soft topographical features obtained by thin-film replication can be successfully coated by magnetron sputtering without disintegrating and bending.