Femtosecond Laser Direct Writing for Cross-Linked Liquid Crystal Polymer Microactuator Construction

In this paper, we report a femtosecond laser direct writing (FsLDW) method for microscale light-driven cross-linked liquid crystal polymer (CLCP) soft actuator preparation. This method can enable various pattern micromachining with a minimum size of about 35 μm and heat-affected zone smaller than 8 μm through optimization of machining parameters and scanning speed. The photo-responsive characteristics of fabricated microscale CLCP actuator have been investigated under the irradiation of ultraviolet (UV) light and blue light or green light. Finally, we propose a femtosecond laser direct writing method for construction of light-driven CLCP micromirrors and demonstrate the scheme feasibility.