Surface Micropatterning of Uniaxially Oriented Polyethylene Films Using Interference Holography for Strain Sensors

A new procedure is presented for direct generation of surface micropatterns on uniaxially oriented polyethylene (PE) films using interference holography with a nanosecond pulsed laser. An ultraviolet absorber, 2-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4,6-di-tert-pentylphenol (BZT) is incorporated into PE prior to stretching to generate absorption at the wavelength of the laser. Illumination with an interference pattern in the absorption band of BZT leads to an obvious height variation in the exposed regions and consequently relief gratings are generated. The height in the exposed regions is strongly dependent on the angle between the grating direction and the film orientation direction. This phenomenon is attributed to a combination of events such as melting, entropic contraction, recrystallization, thermal evaporation of BZT, and anisotropic thermal conductivity. It is shown that the relief height increases with increasing BZT concentration and exhibits a linear dependence on the energy dose above a certain threshold. Additionally, the oriented PE films with the surface micropatterns are explored for strain sensors. The results demonstrate that small strains below 10% are monitored accurately in tensile deformation of the micropatterned, oriented PE films which makes these films potentially useful as strain sensors.