ORNALAS - Research project

We propose an original method for creating surface fields with a tunable multiscale texturing, relying on deterministic graphene folds. The idea is to develop new nano-devices or surfaces with tunable physical properties. Our strategy is based on the japanese art of origami (paper folding). A supported graphene surface will be transformed via the uniaxial or biaxial compression of an elastomer substrate. The latter will have beforehand been engraved by ultrashort laser pulses, generating the nano and micrometric structures acting as a pattern for the expected folds of the transferred graphene. The project will rely on the work of an interdisciplinary team of engineers and researchers from four different laboratories with complementary skills. The various considered applications include plasmonic devices, surfaces with tunable wettability or strong thermal or electronic dissipation and tunable Fresnel lenses and gratings working in the extreme UV and X-ray domains.