Formation of Oriented, Suspended Fibers by Melting Free Standing Polystyrene Thin Films

A new approach toward the fabrication of oriented, suspended fibers from the melting of free-standing polymer thin films is presented. Thin films (between 35 and 120 nm) cast via flow coating are melted atop lithographically patterned arrays of pillars to form suspended fibers (from ∼2 to 3 μm in diameter) between pillars. The effects of film thickness and pillar spacing on fiber diameter and yield are probed in a combinatorial fashion. A novel image analysis technique for the acquisition of fiber diameter across the multivariable parameter space is also outlined. This thin film melting approach details a new technique toward the fabrication of oriented, suspended micro and nanofiber networks with specific point to point connections in desired architectures.