"Tilted table", "peacock" and "triple-floor building" are just three of many fantastical 3D structures that have been created by compressing simple 2D patterns. The new technique for creating these objects is called compressive buckling, and has been developed by researchers in the US, China and South Korea. The method can be used to create objects with features as small as 100 nm that the team says could be useful for developing new technologies for medicine, energy storage and even brain-like electronic networks.
The ability to produce precision 3D structures on the micrometre or nanometre scale is becoming increasingly important to those developing a range of new technologies. However, the number of techniques currently available is limited. One option is to extend existing methods of manufacturing 2D (or extremely thin 3D) nanoscale structures such as computer chips to allow the creation of true 3D objects. This has proved to be difficult and time-consuming because it involves creating a series of aligned 2D layers on top of one another. Other techniques such as 3D printing, in which fluid nozzles deposit the required shape, lack precision and can be used only for materials that can be deposited as inks.
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