2026-08-27 スウェーデン王立工科大学（KTH）
SEM image of a 3D surface with the patterned letters ‘KTH’, each letter patterned in a different thin-film material.
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.kth.se/en/om/nyheter/centrala-nyheter/like-uprooting-tree-stumps-a-simpler-method-to-manufacture-biosensors-1.1490960
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-75538-z
足場構造リフトオフマスクを用いた3D構造上へのコンフォーマル薄膜のリソグラフィパターニング Lithographic patterning of conformal thin films on 3D structures using Scaffold-architected Lift-off masks
Xinxin Liu,Zifan Che,Zofia Maj,Lee-Lun Lai,Kristinn B. Gylfason,Valentin Dubois,Shyamprasad N. Raja,Göran Stemme & Frank Niklaus
Nature Communications Published:14 July 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-75538-z
Abstract
Micro- and nanoscale patterning of conformal thin-film coatings on the exterior surfaces of complex three-dimensional (3D) structures is essential for emerging applications such as soft robotics, photonics, and functional 3D-printed MEMS devices. However, existing methods struggle to deliver high-resolution patterning on complex 3D structures and often suffer from poor thickness control, and inadequate surface conformity of the thin-film coatings. Here we present a robust approach for patterning of conformal thin-film coatings on complex 3D structures, including on sloped surfaces with angles up to 90°, with multiscale dimensions from 100 μm to 100 nm, and even down to the sub-30 nm scale when mask shrinkage techniques are used. This patterning approach utilizes a lithographically defined 3D Scaffold-Architected Lift-Off (SALO) mask in the lift-off process. It is agnostic to the used thin-film deposition process and enables even lift-off patterning of atomic layer deposited (ALD) conformal coatings, a task infeasible for conventional shadowing-based lift-off processes. Our approach opens opportunities for manufacturing complex 3D structures at the micro- and nanoscale by enabling lithographic patterning on the exterior surfaces of arbitrary 3D structures.
