Shape recovery of nanoscale imprints in a thermoset shape memory polymer

This letter reports temperature-dependent recovery of atomic force microscope tip-formed indentations in a thermoset shape memory polymer. The indentations are made at both room temperature and 69 degrees C, and then recovered at temperatures between 40 degrees C and 70 degrees C. The shape recovery is more complete for higher anneal temperatures, and is relatively independent of time for 10(2)-10(4) s. The experiments show shape memory in the 1 - 100 nm size scale. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.