
Devices realized on stretchable, nonplanar, and biocompatible substrates have
been widely studied in the last few years because of their huge potential for
applications [1, 2]. On the other hand, there has been very limited work so
far exploring the utilization of these new functional substrates for magnetic
devices. Here, we present for the first time the integration of magnetic
nanostructures on a flexible poly(dimethilsiloxilane) PDMS and NOA-81
membrane. We will report the initial results obtained by patterning magnetic
nanostructures directly on the PDMS membrane that showed that the magnetic
properties are maintained in the free-standing devices[3]. However large area
patterning of nanostructures directly on flexible substrates is far from being
the optimal solution, due to the difficulties arising from the non-planar
surface topography, heat treatments and the use of required solvents. For
this reason we conceived and optimized a novel technique for transferring
magnetic nanostructures previously fabricated on a standard Si substrate to a
polymeric substrate. We show that this method allows to transfer in an easy
and reliable way large arrays of nanostructures directly unto a polymeric
membrane without using any solvent or chemical etchant. We checked for
possible changes of the micromagnetic configurations in the transferred
nanostructures both with scanning probe microscopy and with magneto-optical
Kerr effect measurements. In addition, we studied the polymer-dependent
formation of wrikles in detail, which is potentially interesting for realizing
stretchable magneto-electronic devices. As a first application, we will
present our recent efforts toward the transfer of functional spintronic
devices into a polymer. Finally, toward the development of a magnetic lab-on-
a-chip platform, we transferred arrays of nanostructures capable to trap,
release and manipulate magnetic particles directly onto both sides a PDMS
microfluidic channel.
**References**
[1] J.A. Rogers, T. Someya, Y.Huang, Science, 327, 1606 (2010)
[2] T. Someya, Nat. Mater. 9, 879 (2010)
[3] M.Donolato, F.Lofink, S.Hankemeier, J.Porro, H.P.Oepen, and P.Vavassori.
J.Appl.Phys. 111, 07B336 (2012)