Elastomer surfaces with directionally dependent adhesion strength and their use in transfer printing with continuous roll-to-roll applications.

In this paper we present mechanics and materials aspects of elastomeric stamps that have angled features of relief on their surfaces, designed to enable control of adhesion strength by peeling direction, in a way that can be exploited in schemes for deterministic assembly by transfer printing. Detailed mechanics models capture the essential physics of interface adhesion in this system. Experiments with cylindrical stamps that have this design demonstrate their potential for use in a continuous, roller mode of operation.