High-throughput fabrication of patterned surfaces and nanostructures by hot-pulling of metallic glass arrays

Description:

Metallic glasses are emerging engineering materials because of their unique mechanical properties and polymer-like thermoplastic processing. Structures ranging from nano to macro-scale have been fabricated by thermoplastic molding of metallic glasses against templates. However, template-based thermoplastic molding suffers major hurdles such as: shallow features due to increase in processing pressure with increasing aspect-ratio and use of expensive disposable templates.

 

The new technology is a method that manipulates the flow behavior of metallic glasses to either enable complete demolding or to deform in a predictable manner. Demolding allows reuse of templates that was not possible in the past. Controlled deformation enables fabrication of nanostructures by mechanical size-reduction of larger metallic glass features. With exact control of certain properties like temperature or viscosity, massive fabrication of metallic glass nanostructures  with controllable aspect-ratios are now possible.  The production of nano-tips, nano-rods, nano-tubes, and nano-wires are now facilitated.  This approach allows simultaneous batch fabrication of patterned metallic surfaces and metallic nanostructures aligned on templates.

 

Reference Number: D-1225

 

Market Applications:

  • Energy Industry (manufacturing fuel cells)
  • Consumer Electronics
  • Integrated Integrated Circuit Industry

  

Features, Benefits & Advantages: 

  • High-surface area wires for catalysts and sensors
  • Electrodes such as neural implants
  • Metal templates for nano-imprinting
  • Inexpensive patterning of metallic glasses using reusable templates
  • Conductive tips for scanning probe microscopy

 

Intellectual Property:

A Provisional Application was filed 5/10/16.

 

Development Stage:

This technology has been reduced to practice, but work is still underway to fully understand the effect of processing parameters and their applicability to metallic glasses of different chemistry

 

Researchers:

Golden Kumar,  Whitacre College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX

Molla Hasan, Graduate Student, Whitacre College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX

 

Keywords: High-throughput nanofabrication, metallic glasses, demolding, wire-drawing

Patent Information:
Category(s):
Materials
For Information, Contact:
Cameron Smith
Licensing Associate
Texas Tech Office of Research Commercialization
Cameron.smith@ttu.edu
Inventors:
Molla Hasan
Golden Kumar
Keywords: