Patent Description:
Biofouling on the engineering structure surface such as underwater construction, medical devices and the material surface on any other industry applications has a global impact to economic, financial and health risk. In a marine environment, more than <NUM>,<NUM> species of creatures can adhere to an underwater surface such as ship's hull, oil and gas transportation pipes and column of oil rig platform under seawater environment. Typically, the initial state of fouling mechanism of living species on the material surface begin with the adhesion of Ulva australis, Ectocarpus, Bacteria and hard-shell barnacles. Those species will create a thin biofilm on the top of material surface. Later, the accumulation of living things on the material surface causes the ship's hull to drag. The adhesion of micro-foulants having sizes less than <NUM> microns can increase friction forces by <NUM> to <NUM> percent.

In the case of the adhesion of macro-foulants, which is a size greater than <NUM> millimeters, can increase friction forces by <NUM> to <NUM> percent. High friction forces lead to the increasing of fuel consumption around <NUM> to <NUM> percent, higher stress on the engine and also increasing of the CO<NUM>, NOx and SO<NUM> gas emission to the atmosphere that leads to greenhouse effects and global warming. Moreover, the accumulation of barnacle on an oil rig platform column can increase weight and diameter of the column, which generates high friction forces of the tide. This can complicate water flow calculation, which can lead to a large error of the prediction of the preventive maintenance schedule of the oil rig platform.

Moreover, barnacle adhesion on marine surfaces generate a high corrosion rate due to pitting. In addition, the adhesion of various species of living things on a ship's hull causes a cross-bio contamination and migration that leads to unbalance of the ecosystem.

In addition to the problems mentioned for a marine environment, the fouling of micro-organism on the surface of medical equipment, such as prosthetic implants, biosensors, catheters and dental implants can cause infectious diseases that lead to increasing death rate in the U. by more than <NUM> percent. It has been estimated that more than <NUM>,<NUM> patients have died during medical treatment process due to the infection.

The fouling of the micro-organism on the engineering structure of the industrial such as power plants, water treatment plant and food & beverage industries causes a high production cost and high maintenance cost due to pipe blockage, membrane flux decrease, high water contamination and reduce a heat-exchanger efficiency reduce.

To address the foregoing problems with surface fouling, various methodologies have been tried. Currently, the prevention of the barnacle fouling on the ship hull drag surface and other engineering construction under seawater environment such as oil rig platform can be done by two main methods (<NUM>) Biocide paint coating and (<NUM>) Antifouling coating. In the past decades, biocide paint is one of the most effective ways to prevent the barnacle fouling. However, high toxic component in the biocide paint called Tributyltin (TBT) has been found to severely damage the aqua ecosystem around the world as it also kills non-target organisms. Therefore, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has banned the global use of biocide paint that contains TBT since <NUM>.

Therefore, various non-toxic coating technologies such as superhydrophobic coating were introduced to prevent barnacle fouling. In addition, the utilization of the water jet cleaning is one of the most effective way to remove the settled barnacles from the ship hull and construction surface. However, the diving in the deep seawater environment is extremely dangerous and expensive.

The mechanism of the fouling of micro and macro-organisms is shown in <FIG>. First, the micro-organism emit the slime (glue) onto the material surface to generate a biofilm in the "Initial attachment stage". After the thin layer of organic substance such as biofilm is settled, the seaweeds, bacteria and embryo of the barnacles can subsequently settled on the material surface during "Irreversible attachment stage".

Later, the settled organism begin to grow and increase the population in the "Initial growth stage" and reach the saturation point for growing in the "Final growth stage". Due to the heavy weight and the size of the settled organisms, some of the organisms start to release from the surface and also release the embryo to the environment for the breeding in the "Dispersion stage". It can be concluded that the prevention of the biofouling on the material surface can be obtained by prevention of the adhesion of proteins or biofilm in the initial attachment stage.

One of the most effective antifouling technologies is a "superhydrophobic surface". This technology provides a low surface energy surface with slippery properties than can prevent the adhesion of slime and also prevent the coating of the biofilm on the surface in the initial attachment stage. As a result of the biofilm not being deposited, the resulting fouling stages will not occur.

Typically, a superhydrophobic surface can be generated by the biomimetic of the natural structures. The superhydrophobic surface is comprised of two main components (<NUM>) surface roughness by using micro/nano-structure and (<NUM>) low surface energy of materials.

The superhydrophobic coating can be applied on the surface of materials used in engineering construction and under seawater environment to reduce barnacle attachment. Moreover, it can be coated on the outer surface of the medical devices such as Micro-electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) sensors and reduce the amount of the bacteria accumulation.

For the industrial applications, coating of superhydrophobic film on the surface can increases productivity. For example, the coating of superhydrophobic film on the condenser of a power plant can increase the rate of the conversion of the mist and vapor to become the water droplets rapidly without the water droplets attaching to the condensers. Therefore, the cycling of the vapor-to-water conversion and the loss rate of the water in the system are significantly decreased, which leads to lower-cost and higher-efficiency in electricity production.

It is well realized that the surface of the lotus leaf is superhydrophobic, which has a water contact angle (WCA) of <NUM> degrees or greater that generate a water repellent surface as shown in <FIG>. In recent years, there were many techniques employed to fabricate a multi-scaled roughness so as to mimic surface feature of the lotus leaf to obtain superhydrophobic properties on the surface. The structure of a lotus leaf is comprised of small nubs with the size of <NUM> to <NUM> micron and arrange in array with the space between the nubs of <NUM> to <NUM> micron. The outer surface of the nub is covered with wax layer with the thickness of nanometer scale as shown in <FIG>. The superhydrophobic properties of the lotus leaf generates a self-cleaning surface, which the water droplet can roll-off and remove the particles and contaminations from the surface.

The characteristic of water droplet movement on the surface can be determined by using water contact angle (WCA), θ, which is related to the surface energy (γs) of liquid and surface. Various surface tensions is shown in <FIG>. (<NUM>) Surface tension between liquid and surface (<NUM>), (<NUM>) surface tension force between surface and air (<NUM>), (<NUM>) surface tension force between liquid and air (<NUM>). The relationship between three different surface tension can be explained in term of contact angle of a liquid on a flat surface, θy, that can be given by Young's equation in Eq. (<NUM>).

Where θ is contact angle of the flat surface, γS is the surface tension of solid, γL, is the surface tension of liquid and γSL, is the surface tension between solid and liquid interface.

Based on the Young's equation, the adhesion of the water droplet can be categorized into the following three different types as shown in <FIG>: (<NUM>) If the WCA on surface <NUM> is less than <NUM> degree, it is hydrophilic surface (<NUM>); (<NUM>) If the WCA on surface <NUM> is between <NUM> to <NUM> degrees, it is hydrophobic surface (<NUM>); and (<NUM>) If the WCA on surface <NUM> is greater than <NUM> degrees, it is superhydrophobic surface (<NUM>).

Based on Young's equation, the maximum water contact angle on the flat surface is not greater than <NUM> degrees. This means, flat surface of low surface energy materials cannot be obtained superhydrophobic property. Moreover, the repellent properties of other liquids on the surface such as lyophobic surface. See, e.g., <CIT>. In addition, as shown in <CIT>, amphiphobic surface is also difficult to obtain.

Later on, Robert N. Wenzel had developed a Young's model to calculate the water contact angle on the rough surface by using surface roughness factor ® to explain the adhesion of the water droplet on the surface as shown in <FIG>. Based on the assumption of that the rough surface (<NUM>), which comprises of micro-pillar (<NUM>) has the same behavior as the rough surface. Therefore, the water droplet can contact to the whole area of pillar due to there is no air trap in the space area between the pillars (<NUM>). The water contact angle of the rough square asperities surface can be calculated by using Eq. <NUM> and Eq. <NUM> [<NUM>]<NPL>. <MAT> <MAT>.

Where θW is the water contact angle of Wenzel's model, θ is the water contact angle on the flat surface, γS is the surface tension of solid, γL, is the surface tension of liquid, γSL is the surface tension between the solid and liquid interface, r is the surface roughness factor, a is the size of the micro-structure that contact with the water droplet, b is the size of the micro-structure that did not contact with the water droplet, h is the height of the micro-structure.

On the other hand, Cassie and Baxter have proposed a model to explain the water contact angle on the rough surface (Cassie and Baxter's model) as shown in <FIG>. The assumption is that the flat surface (<NUM>) that comprises of micro/nano-square asperities (pillar) (<NUM>) acts like a rough surface. However, the space between square asperities contain an air trap, which repel the water droplet (<NUM>) to prevent the contact of water droplet in that rough surface area. The air trap in the space of pillar asperities can obtain higher water contact angle greater than the one that calculated by Wenzel's model, which can calculated by Eq. <NUM> and Eq. <NUM>. <MAT> <MAT>.

Where θ' is the liquid contact angle on rough surface by Cassie's model, θ is the liquid contact angle on flat surface, f is the fraction of the area that contact to the liquid droplet to the area that did not contact to the liquid droplet (shadow area). a is the total surface area that contact to the liquid droplet and b is the total surface area that did not contact to the liquid droplet.

The fabrication of hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surface by mimicking the natural structure can be obtained by two main processes:.

In case of the surface texturing method to produce high surface roughness on low surface energy material, typically, the low surface energy for superhydrophobic surface is fluorocarbon substance such as Teflon, Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), Ethylene chloro-trifluoroethylene (ECTFE), Perfluoro-alkoxyalkane (PFA) and Poly-vinylidene fluoride (PVDF). <NPL>) and <CIT>. The silicone substance such as Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). <NPL>), polymer such as Polyethylene (PE). <NPL>), Ceramic substance such as Zinc oxide (ZnO<NUM>). <NPL>) and Titanium dioxide (TiO<NUM>).

In case of second approach that fabricate the rough surface and coat the low surface energy material on its surface. The rough surface can be obtained by fabricating a micro/nano-structure on the material surface. The micro/nano-structure can be micro/nano-scale asperities (Pillar pattern) or micro/nano-scale cavity (Hole pattern) by various fabrication methods including (<NUM>) Fabrication of micro-scale asperities and micro-scale cavity on high surface energy material. (<NUM>) Photolithography process, <CIT>, (<NUM>) Nanomachining, <CIT>, (<NUM>) Micro-stamping <CIT> and <CIT>, (<NUM>) Microcontact printing <CIT>, (<NUM>) Self-assembling metal colloid monolayers, <CIT>, (<NUM>) Atomic force microscopy nanomachining and nano-indentation, <CIT>, (<NUM>) Sol-gel molding), <CIT> (<NUM>) Self-assembled monolayer directed patterning, <CIT>, (<NUM>) Wet chemical etching, <CIT>, (<NUM>) Printing with colloidal ink, <CIT>, (<NUM>) Carbon nanotube, CNT, <CIT> and (<NUM>) Roll-to-plate nano imprint lithography (R2P-NIL) and Roll-to-roll nano-imprint lithography (R2R-NIL). The relevant teachings of each of these documents is incorporated herein by reference.

The concern parameter of the micro/nano-structure to obtain a superhydrophobic or oleophobic properties is to optimize the pattern size (a), the space between pattern (b), the height of pattern (h), and the ratio between the height and the size of the pattern (Aspect ratio, A. Moreover, the density of the pattern per unit area (Packing factor, P = b/a) and the pattern arrangement is also a crucial parameter.

Typically, the shape of the pattern is one of the most important parameters. There are many pattern designs that have been reported, including (<NUM>) Cubic pillar (a, b, h = <NUM>), <NPL>, (<NUM>) Nano-fiber, <CIT>, (<NUM>) Micropillar or microporous thin film (Diameter of <NUM>. <NUM> to <NUM> micron) that arrange in Honeycomb structure, <CIT>, (<NUM>) Sawtooth profile pillar, Smooth profile pillar, Rounded peaks asperities, Rectangular shaped asperities), Cylindrical foundation and a hemispheric peak, Conical asperities, Pyramid asperities and Pyramid asperities comprise a rounded hemispheric peak that arranged in Rectangular packing and Hexagonal packing. <CIT> and <CIT>.

The micro-pillar and micro-porous can be a square shape, cylindrical shape, common asperity rise angle shape, acute angle trapezoid shape, obtuse trapezoid angle shape, square transverse shape that arranged in rectangular array or hexagonal array. <CIT> and [<NUM>] <CIT>.

In <NUM>, A. Brennan et al. , invented a hydrophobic surface by mimicking a shark skin pattern. This technology is called "Sharklet pattern" that can be applied for the non-toxic antifouling surface. See, e.g., <CIT> and <CIT>. The sharklet pattern has a size of <NUM> micron with different pattern length. The space between patterns is in the length of <NUM> to <NUM> micron. The Sharklet pattern has arranged in sinusoidal function or Sharklet topology. It was found that when the distance between the patterns is less than the size of the living creature, the antifouling properties will occurr and micro-organisms will not attach on the material surface. However, if the space between patterns is too small, the pattern will act like a flat surface and cannot prevent the attachment of micro-organism on the material surface. Therefore, the suitable distance between the patterns is <NUM> to <NUM> percent of the size of the micro-organism. For example, spore of fungi has a size of <NUM> to <NUM> micron. Therefore, the size of micro-pattern should be <NUM> to <NUM> micron. Typically, the distance between the patterns is <NUM> to <NUM> micron.

Regarding to the literature review about the superhydrophobic technologies. The methods to fabricate a rough surface on the material can be done by three main approaches: (<NUM>) Photolithography and etching process including wet chemical etching and dry plasma etching; (<NUM>) Nano-imprint lithography (NIL) and soft lithography process; and (<NUM>) Top-down and bottom-up approach methods.

Typically, the roughness on the material surface can be obtained by fabricating pillar asperities pattern or cavity (hole pattern) that has a cross-sectional pattern shape as follows; Sawtooth profile, Smooth profile, Rounded peaks asperities, Rectangular shaped asperities, Cylindrical foundation and a hemispheric peak, Conical asperities, Pyramid asperities, Pyramid asperities comprise a rounded hemispheric peak, Square shape, Cylindrical shape, Common asperity rise angle, Acute angle trapezoid, Obtuse trapezoid angle, Square transverse shape, line pattern, Triangle pattern, Circular shape pattern, Sphere cube pattern, Polygon pattern and Sharklet pattern that arrange in Rectangular array, Square array and Hexagonal array. Those pillar asperities and cavity asperities shapes are able to have both straight sidewall profile and slope sidewall profile.

Typically, the dimension of the micro-structure (a, b, h) should have the size in the range of <NUM> nanometers to <NUM> micrometers with the aspect ratio of <NUM> to <NUM>. The value of cosine Young (θy) of the materials with flat surface is in the range of-<NUM> to +<NUM> with a packing factor of <NUM> to <NUM>. The popular coating materials on the flat or rough surface to generate a superhydrophobic properties are Teflon, Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and OTS, C<NUM>H<NUM>Cl<NUM>Si.

Therefore, the superhydrophobic surface is comprised of pattern to generate a surface roughness and low surface energy materials (γs). However, the fabrication of superhydrophobic surface on flat silicon wafer is not compatible with the real applications due to the fragile and rigid of the silicon. In addition, the high cost of silicon wafers limits their commercialization. Moreover, silicon wafers are not suitable for marine environment and cannot attach on the curvature surface. Hence, low-cost and flexible material such as PDMS is required. The PDMS material has θy of - <NUM>, σ of <NUM> MPa, ε of <NUM> % and τ of <NUM> MPa at room temperature. However, PDMS pattern such as pillar pattern (PDMS-PIL) and Sharklet pattern (PDMS-SHK) is prone to clumping and mating with the adjacent micro-patterns when attacked by the external forces such as human hand pressure, weight of the fouling micro-organism and living creator, scratch and corrosion as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>.

The pattern collapsed including pattern clumping and pattern mating can be explained by the adhesion force between the adjacent patterns due to the effects of Van der Waals force (FVDW) and Pulling force (P) or called Recovery force as shown in <FIG>. The FVDW is related to the Hamaker constant (A) which in case of PDMS, the Hamaker constant is <NUM>×<NUM>-<NUM> J, Contact area (c) and the space between the patterns (b) as shown in Equation <NUM>. The pulling force is related to the displacement of pillars (V), pillar height (h), Young's modulus (E) and Moment of inertia (I) as shown in <FIG>. <MAT> <MAT>.

The mating and clumping of micro-pillar will be occurred when the recovery force is less than the Van Der Waal force (P < Fvdw). This means, the micro-pattern cannot move back to the original position and causes the decreasing of r and h values that leads to the reducing of superhydrophobicity of the surface. Therefore, the prevention of pattern mating and pattern clumping can be obtained by design a micro-structure that have a pulling force larger than Van Der Waal force (P > Fvdw). One promising micro-structure is the 3D pattern with at least two different pattern heights on the same plane of material surface. It was found that the 3D pattern can reduce a contact area of the adjacent pillars and also increase the displacement of the pillar. However, the 3D pattern also cannot stand with the high pressure force and shear force from the external environment.

<CIT> discloses systems, techniques and applications for nanoscale coating structures and materials that are superhydrophobic with a water contact angle greater than about <NUM>° or <NUM>° and/or superoleophobic with an oil contact angle greater than about <NUM>° or <NUM>°. The nanostructured coatings can include Si or metallic, ceramic or polymeric nanowires that may have a re-entrant or mushroom-like tip geometry. The nanowired coatings can be used in various self-cleaning applications ranging from glass windows for high-rise buildings and non-wash automobiles to pipeline inner surface coatings and surface coatings for biomedical implants.

<CIT> discloses articles including repellent coatings, as well as methods of making as using these articles. The articles can comprise a substrate and a repellent coating disposed on a surface of the substrate. The repellant coating can comprise hydrophobic particles dispersed within a polymer binder. The hydrophobic particles can be aggregated within the polymer binder, thereby forming a multiplicity of re-entrant structures embedded within and protruding from the polymer binder. The repellent coatings, and by extension the articles described herein, can exhibit selective wetting properties (e.g., superhydrophilicty/superoleophobicity, or superhydrophobicity /superoleophilicity).

<CIT> discloses an article having a nanotextured surface with hydrophobic properties. The nanotextured surface comprises an array of pillars defined by a surface fraction (cps) of the pillars, a pitch of the pillars and an aspect ratio of the pillars, wherein: - the surface fraction is equal or greater to <NUM>% and equal or less to <NUM>%; - the pitch is equal or less to <NUM>; - the aspect ratio (H/2R) is equal or less to <NUM>, where H is the height of the pillars and R is the radius of the pillars; - the pitch, the height, the radius are expressed in nanometers (nm); - the nanotextured surface comprises at least partially a hydrophobic material.

<CIT> discloses a sapphire substrate having antifouling properties and methods for their preparation and to their use as optical components in devices which transmit or receive light. The sapphire substrates have a micropatterned surface which comprises a plurality of sapphire pillars which project from the surface. The pillars have an aspect ratio less than or equal to about <NUM>, and the ratio of the spacing between adjacent pillars to the pillar height is greater than or equal to about <NUM>.

To address the problems in the prior art, the present disclosure provides a material for an antifouling surface, said material comprising a unique pattern array including a circular ring pattern with at least two inner stripe and at least four outer stripe supporters (C-RESS) pattern that comprises of the circular ring pattern which is connected to the at least two inner stripe and at least four outer stripe pattern. It has been discovered that when the design parameters including a, b, h, A. R, and P have been optimized, a robust pattern with high surface roughness can obtain superhydrophobic properties for marine, medical and public transportation applications.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a material for an antifouling surface in accordance with claim <NUM>.

Further aspects of the present invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

The following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention can be best understood when read in conjunction with the drawings enclosed herewith and where like elements are identified by like reference numbers in the several provided views.

As mentioned, there is disclosed a material for an antifouling surface. In one aspect of the invention, the material comprises a substrate, a first pattern located on the substrate, and a second pattern identical and adjacent to the first pattern, the first pattern comprising one circular ring pattern and multiple stripes, wherein the multiple stripes comprise: at least two inner stripes that are located within the circular ring pattern, and intersect the diameter of the circular ring pattern, and at least four outer stripes, such as four to eight outer stripes, that are located outside the circular ring pattern, wherein each outer stripe of the at least four outer stripes comprises a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the proximal end is proximal to and in contact with the circular ring pattern, and the distal end is distal to the one circular ring pattern and in contact with the second pattern to form a pattern array.

In one embodiment, the first pattern comprises eight stripes with two inner stripes that form a cross (or "plus sign") within the circular ring pattern, and six outer stripes that are located outside the circular ring pattern, wherein the proximal ends of the six outer stripes are in contact with the circular ring pattern.

In one embodiment, the material further comprises at least one guard ring pattern having a width (a<NUM>) that is between <NUM> to <NUM> times of the width of circular ring pattern (ai), and a height (h<NUM>) that is at least <NUM> times of the height of the circular ring pattern (h<NUM>).

In one embodiment, the height (h<NUM>) that is at least <NUM> times of the height of the circular ring pattern (h<NUM>).

In this embodiment, the material comprises at least one guard ring pattern wherein the top surface of the guard ring pattern contains at least a hole pattern having a width (b<NUM>) that is not less than the width of circular ring pattern (ai), the hole pattern further having a depth (h<NUM>) that is equal to or less than the height of the guard ring pattern (h<NUM>). The guard ring can have any geometric shape, with a square shape and a hexagonal shape of particular interest. In an embodiment, the total area of guard ring pattern is equal to greater than 1x1 square millimeter, such as between 1x1 and 10x10 square millimeters.

The material described herein may further comprise at least one pillar pattern that is located between adjacent circular ring patterns, or between circular ring patterns and outer stripe patterns in a pattern array.

In one embodiment, the circular ring pattern comprises an outer diameter and an inner diameter, wherein the outer diameter (a<NUM>) is at least five times greater than the width of the stripe pattern (as), and the inner diameter (a<NUM>) is at least three times greater than the width of the stripe pattern (a<NUM>).

In one embodiment, four of the outer stripes are tilted at <NUM>-<NUM> degrees compared to a vertical base line, such as at <NUM> degrees compared to a vertical base line. As used herein, a "vertical base line" is defined as a line that intersects the center of the circular ring pattern in the vertical direction.

In one embodiment, two of the six outer stripes are not tilted and are approximately <NUM> degrees compared to a horizontal base line. As used herein, a "horizontal base line" is defined as a line that intersects the center of the circular ring pattern in a horizontal direction.

In one embodiment, the material described herein is flexible and selected from the group of polydimethylsiloxane, polyurethane, acrylate, lacquer, polypropylene, polymethyl methacrylate, rubber, elastomer and the combination thereof.

In one embodiment, the pattern array has superhydrophobic and superoleophobic properties.

In another embodiment, there is described a material for an antifouling surface. In this embodiment, the material comprises a substrate; and a first pattern located on the substrate that is connected to at least one identical adjacent second pattern to form a pattern array, wherein the first pattern comprises one circular ring pattern and eight stripes with two inner stripes located with the circular ring pattern, and six outer stripes that are located outside the circular ring pattern. In an embodiment, the outer stripes comprise a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the proximal end is proximal to and in contact with the circular ring pattern, the distal end is distal to the circular ring pattern and in contact with the second pattern to form the pattern array. This embodiment may further comprise at least one guard ring pattern that has a pattern height higher than that of all the components of pattern array to protect the pattern array from direct contact and direct impact of the external forces, wherein the top surface of the guard ring pattern contains at least a hole pattern that can generate an air trap and produce superhydrophobic and superoleophobic properties on the surface of guard ring pattern. It is understood that this embodiment may further comprise at least one pillar pattern that is located between the adjacent of circular ring patterns or inside circular ring pattern, or between the circular ring pattern and the guard ring pattern, or the combination thereof, wherein the pillar pattern can increase a surface roughness and decrease the portion of the flat surface area of the pattern array.

In one embodiment, the material described herein has the following configuration:.

In an embodiment, the height (h<NUM>) that is at least <NUM> times of the height of the circular ring pattern (h<NUM>).

In an embodiment, the material described herein is defined wherein the thickness of pattern array (h<NUM>) in the range of <NUM> nanometer to <NUM> millimeters.

In an embodiment, the material described herein is defined wherein the guard ring pattern, the pillar pattern, and hole pattern can have any geometric shape.

The material described herein may be flexible and selected from the group of polydimethylsiloxane, polyurethane, acrylate, lacquer, polypropylene, polymethyl methacrylate, rubber, elastomer and the combination thereof.

An example of a material that comprises four different pattern components may have dimensions as follows;.

A pattern that comprises the circular ring pattern (<NUM>) that has inner stripe patterns, outer stripe patterns and pillar pattern (<NUM>) on the substrate (<NUM>) is shown in <FIG>.

A pattern that comprises with four different pattern components may have dimensions as follows;.

The circular ring pattern in <FIG> has the maximum distance between two opposite inner edges of the guard ring pattern (b<NUM>) is greater than the sum of the width of circular ring pattern (a<NUM>) and two times of the distance between the outer circular ring pattern and inner guard ring pattern (b<NUM>), ( b<NUM> > (a<NUM>+2b<NUM>)). The circular ring pattern comprises two inner stripe patterns (<NUM>, <NUM>) is located at the diameter of the circular ring pattern (<NUM>) and the other six outer stripe patterns (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) are located outside the circular ring pattern (<NUM>).

The two inner stripe patterns (<NUM>, <NUM>) have an arrangement is similar to the plus sign at the center of the circular ring pattern as shown in <FIG> (<NUM>) and (<NUM>).

The outer stripe patterns (<NUM>), (<NUM>), (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) have an arrangement of the pattern has rotated with the angle θL related to the horizon line. Those outer stripe patterns (<NUM>), (<NUM>), (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) are connected to the adjacent patterns as shown in <FIG>. The θL is equal to <NUM> degrees.

The outer stripe pattern (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) have an arrangement of the pattern is perpendicular to the horizon line with the angle θL of <NUM> degrees. Those outer stripe patterns (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) are connected to the adjacent circular ring patterns as shown in <FIG>.

The distance between the outer circular ring pattern and inner guard ring pattern (b<NUM>) is equal or greater than the width of circular ring pattern (a<NUM>) (b<NUM> ≥ a<NUM>). The circular ring pattern comprises with inner stripe patterns and outer stripe patterns and arrange in Hexagonal array across the whole surface area of the substrate.

(<NUM>) Guard ring pattern (<NUM>) is not limited to the geometry shapes such as circular shape, square shape, pentagonal shape, hexagonal shape and octagonal shape,.

(<NUM>) Pillar pattern (<NUM>) that is located in the space area (<NUM>) of circular ring pattern (<NUM>) wherein.

The shape of pillar pattern (<NUM>) is not limited to the geometry shapes such as circular shape, square shape, pentagonal shape, hexagonal shape and octagonal shape.

(<NUM>) Hole pattern or air-trap pattern (<NUM>) that is located on the top surface of guard ring pattern (<NUM>) wherein.

The shape of hole pattern (<NUM>) is not limited to the geometry shapes such as circular shape, square shape, pentagonal shape, hexagonal shape and octagonal shape.

The material for an antifouling surface may be comprised of four components. This pattern may have at least two different pattern heights. The height of circular ring pattern (<NUM>) may be equal or greater than that of pillar pattern (<NUM>). The height of both circular ring pattern and pillar pattern may be lower than the height of guard ring pattern (<NUM>).

The specific characteristic of this pattern is that the surface is comprised of guard ring pattern with the size of <NUM> to <NUM> times greater than the other patterns on the surface. The height of the guard ring pattern may be at least two times higher than the height of the other patterns. Moreover, the top surface of guard ring pattern may comprise an air-trap hole pattern. The depth of the hole pattern may be equal or less than the height of guard ring pattern. Those patterns may be arranged in square or hexagonal array across the material surface.

The CAD layout of the robust patterns shown in <FIG> may be used to fabricate a photomask, which used as a prototype for conventional photolithography process to produce a pattern on silicon mold.

For the fabrication of the sample with the inventive robust pattern, there is described a method to fabricate robust pattern that comprises of circular ring pattern, outer strip pattern, inner stripe pattern and pillar pattern that are arranged in a square array. This pattern comprises hexagonal honeycomb guard ring pattern with air-trap hole pattern array on its surface. The silicon dioxide (SiO<NUM>) thin film will be used as a hard mask layer during an etching process.

First, the <NUM> inch silicon wafer is used as a substrate to fabricate a silicon mold. The silicon wafer was cleaned by standard cleaning (SC-<NUM>) process to remove the contaminants from the surface. Then, <NUM> micron thick silicon dioxide (SiO<NUM>) film was deposited on the silicon wafer by using Plasma Enhance Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) method. The oxide layer is used as a hard mask for the deep silicon etching process. Later the <NUM> micron photoresist film was coated on the oxide layer by using spin coating method. The circular ring pattern with outer stripe pattern and inner stripe pattern were transferred from the photomask to the photoresist film by using contact mask aligner. The energy and focus distance will be optimized to control the pattern shape and pattern size similar to the CAD design. After hard bake process, the photoresist pattern was transferred to the beneath oxide layer by using reactive ion etching (RIE) process with the etch depth of h<NUM>. The remained photoresist was stripped by using Piranha acid solution (H<NUM>SO<NUM>: H<NUM>O<NUM> = <NUM>:<NUM>%wt) at <NUM> degree Celsius for <NUM> and rinse with deionized water (DIW) for <NUM>.

The second patterning process was done to transfer pillar pattern in the space area of circular ring pattern. After coating <NUM> micron thick photoresist, the alignment process was done before exposure with suitable exposure dose and contact distance. The RIE process was used to etch oxide layer to produce pillar pattern. Later, the pattern on the oxide layer was transferred to the silicon surface by using deep RIE (DRIE) method with the etch depth of h<NUM>. The remained photoresist film was then removed again by using Piranha acid solution at <NUM> degree Celsius and rinse with DIW for <NUM>. After this process, the whole silicon wafer was etched by using DRIE method to increase the etch depth of h<NUM> and h<NUM> on the circular ring pattern and pillar pattern array. Then the oxide hard mask was etched from the silicon wafer by using hydrofluoric acid (HF).

Therefore, the silicon mold is comprised of the fabricated circular ring pattern with inner and outer stripe patterns (<NUM>) and pillar pattern (<NUM>) as shown in <FIG>.

Next, the high aspect ratio guard ring pattern with inner and outer stripe patterns (<NUM>) and hole pattern (<NUM>) were fabricated. In this process, <NUM> micron thick photoresist film was applied on the patterned silicon wafer. The guard ring pattern with the size of a<NUM> and hole pattern with the depth of h<NUM> was patterned by contact mask aligner. This pattern was etched into the silicon wafer surface by using DRIE.

Regarding to the loading effects for the different pattern density between guard ring pattern and hole pattern. The etching rate of those patterns were different. Therefore, the height of guard ring pattern (h<NUM>) is greater than the depth of hole pattern (h<NUM>) by using a single etching process. The remained photoresist film was then removed again by using Piranha acid solution at <NUM> degree Celsius and rinse with DIW for <NUM>. Then the oxide hard mask was etched from the silicon wafer by using hydrofluoric acid (HF). Finally, the silicon mold with robust pattern was fabricated as the structure shown in <FIG>.

Before the replicate pattern by using soft lithography process, the PDMS was mixed with curing agent at the weight ratio of <NUM>:<NUM>. The mixture was stirred until it becomes homogeneous. Later, the PDMS mixture was put in the vacuum chamber to remove the air bubbles from the mixed solution. The silicon mold surface has also been prepared by priming the surface with hexamethyldisilaxane (HMDS) as a mold releasing agent. The HMDS will change the surface of silicon mold from hydrophilic to hydrophobic and makes a PDMS is more easily to release from the silicon mold.

The robust pattern on the silicon mold can be transferred to the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate by using soft lithography process. The PDMS was cast onto silicon mold surface as shown in <FIG>. After casting, the PDMS was cured in the convection oven at <NUM> degree Celsius for <NUM> hours. Then the PDMS sample was cool down in the air ambient until the temperature has decreased to room temperature. The PDMS film was released (de-molding) from the silicon mold. Therefore, the robust pattern that comprises of circular ring pattern, inner and outer stripe pattern, pillar pattern, guard ring pattern and hole pattern were completely replicated to PDMS sample as the schematic shown in <FIG>.

The properties of robust pattern were shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. The top-view and side-view scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the robust pattern are shown in <FIG>, respectively. Moreover, the water contact angle of various PDMS patterns (F1 to F14 patterns) before and after scratch test by apply the glass slide with the pressure back and forth for <NUM> times is shown in <FIG>. The degradation of the water contact angle of various PDMS patterns (F <NUM> to F14 patterns) after scratch test is shown in <FIG>. It was confirmed that robust pattern that comprises of inner and outer stripe pattern, pillar pattern and guard ring pattern can prevent the pattern mating and pattern clamping by the external forces. Moreover, the SEM images of PDMS with robust pattern that comprises of inner and outer stripe pattern, pillar pattern and hexagonal guard ring pattern before and after scratch test with glass slide that move back and forth for <NUM> times are shown in <FIG>, respectively. Moreover, the relation between the water contact angle on various PDMS patterns (F1 to F14 patterns) before and after scratch test with glass slide that move back and forth for <NUM> times is shown in <FIG>. The suppression of the water contact angle on various PDMS patterns (F1 to F14 patterns) after scratch tested is shown in <FIG>. Therefore, the robust pattern can still maintain a superhydrophobic properties on its surface.

<FIG> shows a graphical illustration of robust pattern array with circular ring pattern, inner stripe patterns, outer stripe patterns, pillar patterns and multiple hexagonal guard ring pattern with air trap hole pattern array. (a) top-view graphical illustration image and (b) side-view graphical illustration image.

Claim 1:
A material for an antifouling surface, said material comprising:
a substrate (<NUM>);
a first pattern (<NUM>) located on the substrate, and
a second pattern identical and adjacent to the first pattern, the first pattern (<NUM>) comprising one circular ring pattern (<NUM>) and multiple stripes (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>);
wherein the multiple stripes comprise:
at least two inner stripes (<NUM>, <NUM>) that are located within the circular ring pattern (<NUM>), and intersect the diameter of the circular ring pattern (<NUM>), and
at least four outer stripes (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) that are located outside the circular ring pattern (<NUM>), wherein each outer stripe of the at least four outer stripes (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) comprises a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the proximal end is proximal to and in contact with the one circular ring pattern (<NUM>), the distal end is distal to the one circular ring pattern (<NUM>) and in contact with said second pattern to form a pattern array.