Application of Bessel beams to 2D microfabrication

Fs laser-based two-photon polymerisation (2PP) has been widely reported as a means of directly writing three-dimensional nanoscale structures. Usually the voxel of a high numerical aperture microscope objective is scanned through the resin to build up the required model. In the case of high aspect ratio two-dimensional structures, such as cell scaffolds, repeated scanning is required to build up the height.The voxel shape can be substantially elongated by the inclusion of an axicon lens in the laser beam line. In this report we describe the use of a Bessel beam produced in the region beyond the focus of an objective lens when the beam has been modified in this way.A Ti:sapphire laser was used to write a range of 2D square cell structures in a Zr-loaded sol-gel system. The process was characterised, in terms of the dimensions of the polymerised Bessel region, for different processing conditions. Examples of the structures are also described.     

Laser polymerization-based novel lift-off technique

The fabrication of microstructures by two-photon polymerization has been widely reported as a means of directly writing three-dimensional nanoscale structures. In the majority of cases a single point serial writing technique is used to form a polymer model. Single layer writing can also be used to fabricate two-dimensional patterns and we report an extension of this capability by using two-photon polymerization to form a template that can be used as a sacrificial layer for a novel lift-off process.A Ti:sapphire laser, with wavelength 795 nm, 80 MHz repetition rate, 100 fs pulse duration and an average power of 700 mW, was used to write 2D grid patterns with pitches of 0.8 and 1.0 μm in a urethane acrylate resin that was spun on to a lift-off base layer. This was overcoated with gold and the grid lifted away to leave an array of gold islands.The optical transmission properties of the gold arrays were measured and found to be in agreement with a rigorous coupled-wave analysis simulation.     

Oxidation of molybdenum and tungsten metals by molybdenum and tungsten hexafluorides in acetonitrile. Preparation of the 1:1 pentafluoride acetonitrile complexes

Molybdenum and tungsten metal powders are oxidized by their respective hexafluorides in the presence of acetonitrile at room temperature to give the 1:1 pentafluoride, acetonitrile complexes, MF₅.NCMe, M = Mo or W. Their i.r. spectra are consistent with C_4v symmetry for the MF₅N moiety. The tungsten pentafluoride complex appears to be stable with respect to disproportionation at room temperature.     

Fabrication of grating structures by simultaneous multi-spot fs laser writing

Two-photon polymerisation is an established technique for the fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures. To date structures have mostly been developed using single beam serial writing. A novel approach to simultaneous multi-spot two-photon polymerisation, that uses a SiO₂ on glass Fraunhofer diffractive optical element to generate an array of beamlets, is described. A Ti:sapphire laser, with wavelength 790 nm, 80 MHz repetition rate, 100 fs pulse duration and an average power of 25 mW, was used to initiate two-photon polymerisation. The DOE, in combination with a high power microscope objective, efficiently transforms the laser beam into a linear array of four spots of equal intensity. The fabrication of a periodic transmission grating, using parallel processing with these four spots, is shown. The grating was written in a Zr-loaded resin prepared on a glass substrate using dip coating deposition of a Zr/PMMA hybrid prepared by the sol-gel method. The operation of the diffractive element and the performance of the diffraction grating are also discussed.     

Aluminium(III) fluoride originating from decomposition of hydrazinium fluoroaluminate(III) under oxidative conditions: Syntheses, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and some catalytic reactions

Decomposition of hydrazinium pentafluoroaluminate under oxidative (F₂) conditions leads to aluminium(III) fluoride whose properties are highly dependent on the conditions used for synthesis. In the presence of anhydrous HF, which probably acts as a heat exchange agent, samples have high BET areas, whereas BET areas of samples prepared under gas-solid conditions are small. XPS data are consistent with the presence of Lewis acid centres but, more importantly, emphasise the importance of surface hydroxyl groups, particularly in high surface area compounds. Catalytic behaviour towards isomerisation of 1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroethane and subsequent dismutations at moderate temperatures and towards room temperature dehydrochlorination of tert-butyl chloride has been demonstrated for some high BET samples; both reactions indicate that surface Lewis sites exist. Catalytic ability is inhibited by surface hydroxyl groups but is improved by prior fluorination of the surface with CCl₂F₂. Catalysis is inhibited also by the presence of ammonium fluoroaluminate, a by-product of the decomposition process. The [NH₄]⁺ salt level can be reduced by washing with anhydrous HF.