Sub-micrometer scale periodic porous cellular structures: Microframes prepared by holographic interference lithography

Abstract

The effective elastic properties of periodic bicontinuous solid/air sub-micrometer scale periodic porous cellular structures that can be fabricated at small length scales by holographic interference lithography were established. Finite element method was used to calculate the linear elastic properties of the air-sphere structures, the rod-connected structures, and the corresponding level set structures. The air-sphere and the level set structures are found to have a higher stiffness than the rod-connected models as the ligaments have increasing diameter closer to the nodes where the ligaments connect. The level set analogue of the 12-connected rod-model is the inverse F-RD structure which is also a 12-connected bicontinous structure. The surface family P fabricated using cosine terms shows that the structure possesses similar structural characteristics as the tubular P structure.