Laser-patterned functional microstructures in hydrogels: fabrication and applications (Invited Paper)

The development of a novel method for patterning functional structures on hydrogels via laser scanning promises to facilitate the fabrication of hydrogel-based electric or optical devices. This presentation will outline our studies focused on directly patterning functional microstructures on hydrogels using laser technology. In the first part of the presentation, we will discuss our investigation into fabricating metal microstructures within hydrogels through multi-photon photoreduction. By integrating locally imparted optical properties with inherent hydrogel characteristics, applications such as plasmonic sensing, soft actuators, and optical switching become feasible. In the latter part of the presentation, we will introduce our research on laser-based graphitization applied to hydrogels. While hydrogels were considered challenging for laser-induced graphitization, we have successfully achieved to pattern graphitic carbon structures on hydrogels. We will describe the fabrication method and discuss applications utilizing the conductive structures in hydrogel-based supercapacitors and microstrip antennas.