Micro and nano structures of carbonised polymer through pyrolytic transformation from polymer structures

Micro and nano structures of carbonised polymers resulting from the pyrolytic transformation of polymer structures are presented. Polymers have become increasingly popular as materials for micro/nano electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS), especially for chemical or biological application. Focus is on the transformation of polymer structures into carbonised structures using a pyrolysis process. Combination of this pyrolysis process with conventional MEMS/NEMS fabrication technology could provide various fine structures of carbonised polymer. Carbonised polymers have advantages over conventional carbon materials, with respect to compatibility with MEMS, because they can be transformed directly from a polymer structure. Three-dimensional micro and nano free-standing structures of carbonised polymer as typical MEMS/NEMS structures are reported. Micro molding process is used to demonstrate a unique polymer structure to be pyrolysed. Furthermore, EB lithography technology is employed for the patterning of polymers in addition to UV photolithography which is used by previous researches. A 100 nm wide bridge structure is designed as nano structures. In addition, the presented structures of carbonised polymer are expected to be applied to micro and nano functional devices such as electrochemical sensors by making the best use of their carbon-like features.