The use of FIB for the preparation of a structure analogous to the natural sur-face and its replication by selected types of polymers

The experiments aimed to verify the use of a focused ion beam (FIB) to create structures analogous to the natural surface and then use the two-step imprinting method to prepare replicas of the surface creat-ed by FIB. The surface of the petal leaves of pansy (Viola x wittrockiana) was selected as a natural sur-face pattern. The TESCAN AMBER FIB-SEM microscope was used for the preparation of an analo-gous surface. The molds for the replication process were made of President Light Body elastomer. PVB, PVA, CMC, PCL, EP were used for the preparation of polymer replicas. Scanning electron micro-scope was used to evaluate the quality of the prepared polymer replicas. The dimensions of the replicat-ed convex and concave structures were 25 x 20 µm. The polymers showed a different ability to copy the structure in detail. For PVA, CMC, and PCL, surface structuring at the nanometer level was described in this study. Due to the dimensions of the cones of convex and concave structures, the color was ob-served on all samples.