Electrical Discharge based Microfabrication on Electrospun Nanofibers

This paper reports the use of electrical discharge for fabricating microstructures on electrospun polymer nanofibers. Microchips containing an array of conductive microelectrodes are fabricated. Electrical discharges are induced by applying high electrical voltage to these microelectrodes. The thermal energy generated by the micropatterned discharge arcs elevates the temperature in localized regions and melts polymer nanofibers in the close vicinity. Microstructures with the minimum line width as small as 20 mum are demonstrated. This method provides a promising start point to interface biodegradable nanofibrous materials to microstructures, which is significant for a broad array of biomedical and industrial applications.