Effect of drying conditions on patterned ceramic films processed by soft micromolding

A soft lithography technique was used to create patterned green ceramic films including micrometric voids of well-defined geometry. A PDMS mold was filled by high solid content aqueous suspension (40–52% vol.) and the process quality as well as the film green density were evaluated through SEM and non-contact profilometry. Drying is a critical step, as limited shrinkage was observed due to wetting of the elastomer by water. The drying conditions were optimized in order to increase the homogeneity and green packing of the structured films. Controlled geometry features of high aspect ratio were produced down to the micrometer scale. There are many technological uses of patterned films. In this study, we have used this approach to introduce controlled flaws and investigate constrained sintering and crack growth