Creating three-dimensional magnetic functional microdevices via molding-integrated direct laser writing

Magnetic, wireless miniature devices are promising for healthcare, information technology, and many other field but lack advanced fabrication methods for micrometer length scales. Here authors present a molding-integrated direct laser writing fabrication protocol to fabricate 3D micron-scale devices with programmable magnetization and multi-material integration. Magnetically driven wireless miniature devices have become promising recently in healthcare, information technology, and many other fields. However, they lack advanced fabrication methods to go down to micrometer length scales with heterogeneous functional materials, complex three-dimensional (3D) geometries, and 3D programmable magnetization profiles. To fill this gap, we propose a molding-integrated direct laser writing-based microfabrication approach in this study and showcase its advanced enabling capabilities with various proof-of-concept functional microdevice prototypes. Unique motions and functionalities, such as metachronal coordinated motion, fluid mixing, function reprogramming, geometrical reconfiguring, multiple degrees-of-freedom rotation, and wireless stiffness tuning are exemplary demonstrations of the versatility of this fabrication method. Such facile fabrication strategy can be applied toward building next-generation smart microsystems in healthcare, robotics, metamaterials, microfluidics, and programmable matter.

Automated summary

The authors propose a molding-integrated direct laser writing fabrication protocol to create 3D micron-scale devices with programmable magnetization and multi-material integration. This method enables diverse motions and functionalities, showcasing its versatility in various fields such as healthcare, robotics, metamaterials, microfluidics, and programmable matter.