Nanometer-size anisotropy of injection-molded polymer micro-cantilever arrays

Understanding and controlling the structural anisotropies of injection-molded polymers is vital for designing products such as cantilever-based sensors. Such micro-cantilevers are considered as cost-effective alternatives to single-crystalline silicon-based sensors. In order to achieve similar sensing characteristics,structure and morphology have to be controlled by means of processing parameters including mold temperature and injection speed. Synchrotron radiation-based scanning small- (SAXS) and wide-angle x-ray scattering techniques were used to quantify crystallinity and anisotropy in polymer micro-cantilevers with micrometer resolution in real space. SAXS measurements confirmed the lamellar nature of the injection-molded semi-crystalline micro-cantilevers. The homogenous cantilever material exhibits a lamellar periodicity increasing with mold temperature but not with injection speed. We demonstrate that micro-cantilevers made of semi-crystalline polymers such as polyvinylidenefluoride, polyoxymethylene, and polypropylene show the expected strong degree of anisotropy along the injection direction.