Published in Chemistry World, 10 May 2012
When it comes to nanofabrication, cracks are usually best avoided. But now researchers in South Korea have discovered that cracks aren’t always bad – if harnessed, they can be used to make controlled patterns. The technique is inexpensive and straightforward, and could have benefits for electronics and microfluidics.
Koo Hyun Nam, the lead author of the study who is based at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, says his group’s technique is similar to the way that ancient Egyptian masons created rocks of just the right size for pyramid construction. Rather than cut rocks by hand, the masons would force a wooden wedge into a small hole in the rock, and soak it with water. The wedge would expand, concentrating force at its tip, neatly breaking the rock apart. […]
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