Microtubes with Complex Cross Section Fabricated by C-Shaped Bessel Laser Beam for Mimicking Stomata That Opens and Closes Rapidly

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2018 Oct 24;10(42):36369-36376. doi: 10.1021/acsami.8b11173. Epub 2018 Oct 9.

Abstract

This article presents a new method for fabricating complex cross-sectional microtubes with a high aspect ratio at micro/nanoscale. The microtubes are directly written in a photoresist using a femtosecond pulsed laser combined with a spatial light modulator (SLM). A new method for generating a C-shaped Bessel beam by modifying the Bessel beams with a SLM is reported for the first time. Using this gap-ring-shaped light field, microtubes with special cross section (trefoil-shaped, clover-shaped, spiral, etc.) have been first achieved through two-photo polymerization rapidly. The microtube wall can reach about 800 nm and the diameter of the gap-ring structure is only a few micrometers. As a demonstration, artificial stomata were manufactured with the same size as actual plants stomata consisting of gap-ring microtubes. This artificial stomata can mimic the function of the real stomata with rapid opening and closing, demonstrating its ability to trap and release microparticles regulated by rinse solvent.

Keywords: Bessel beams; complex-shaped microtubes; femtosecond laser; light phase modulation; stomata.