Fabrication and Characterization of Hierarchical Super Hydrophobic Surfaces
Maurizio BOSCARDIN (Fondazione Bruno Kessler)
Abstract
Superhydrophobic surfaces are becoming more and more popular in different application fields: self-cleaning and low adhesion/friction are the properties of hydrophobic surfaces that are particularly sought. Micro- and nano- patterned surfaces are found in nature, both in animal skins and plant leaves [1]. Roughness on an intrinsic hydrophobic surface theoretically leads to its superhydrophobicity, while using a hydrophilic substrate leads to superhydrophilicity; however.
The purpose of the work is to present a highly accurate, fast, repeatable and controllable microfabrication method to produce superhydrophobic silicon surfaces, combining an anisotropic silicon wet etch in a solution based on Tetramethylammonium hydroxide [3] (TMAH) and deep reactive ion etching (DRIE).
