Fig. 1: Fabrication of various surface patterns via direct imprinting in thermal drawing (DITD) technique.
From: Designer patterned functional fibers via direct imprinting in thermal drawing
a Schematic of the DITD process for producing 2D diffraction grating on fiber surface. b SEM image of 2D microdot array on fiber surface. c Diffraction patterns when illuminated by a white supercontinuum laser. d 300-meter-long fully patterned fiber collected on a cylindrical bobbin. e Enlarged photograph showing the diffraction pattern on fiber-wrapped bobbin. f–h Parallel lines with both linewidth and spacing of 5 μm created in different directions (parallel, perpendicular, and 45° angle to the fiber’s axial direction). Inset: overview of patterned fibers. The double arrows represent the groove directions (scale bar, 500 μm). i Surface pattern with nonuniform depth. Inset scale bar, 500 μm. j Fiber patterned with customized letters “NTU”.
