Self-Assembled Axisymmetric Microscale Periodic Wrinkles on Elastomer Fibers

Abstract

In this work, we demonstrate a novel scalable microscale manufacturing technique that uses structural self-assembly to create controlled ring-shaped periodic perturbations in the form of wrinkles on a polymer fiber concentric to the fiber axis. The wrinkles are generated by stretching a soft polymer fiber made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to strains ranging from 10% to 200%, followed by an ultraviolet (UV)/ozone exposure to create a hard SiOx film over the soft fiber before releasing the fiber strain. We identified the key variables controlling the wavelength of the microscale wrinkles. Possible applications of the method in optical and other devices are discussed.