Aerodynamically assisted jetting: a rapidly emerging microfabrication methodology

Processing science and technology can have an immense influence on advancing a field of research, with the power to bridge the physical with the life sciences. An emerging processing science is reported, which is completely driven by aerodynamic forces that are brought about by a pressure difference over an orifice. Free jets formed by this methodology had previously been investigated for single-phase media for relatively low applied chamber pressures. Applying this technology to materials science implies that the media generally or in most cases would be multi-phase in nature having high viscosity. Developmental studies on this jetting route demonstrate the promise this processing methodology shows in handling multi-phase high-viscosity media (nano-suspensions). Furthermore, the investigations extend to elucidating the protocol to manipulate operational parameters together with the rheological properties of the multi-phase media to generate a near-mono distribution of composite droplets and threads for deposition. This is most important if this technique is to play a pivotal role in materials science and engineering. The results presented here give birth to a novel microfabrication by drop/thread-and-place approach by way of aerodynamically assisted jetting.