Anisotropic movement
of azobenzene materials (<i>i</i>.<i>e</i>., azobenzene
molecules incorporated in polymer,
glass, or supramolecules) has provided significant opportunities for
the fabrication of micro/nanoarchitectures. The examples include circular
holes, line gaps, ellipsoidal holes, and nanofunnels. However, all
of the previous studies have only focused on the lateral directional
movement for the structural shaping of azobenzene materials. Herein,
we propose structural shaping based on a vertical directional movement
of azobenzene materials. To do this, light with oblique incidence,
containing normal direction light polarization, was illuminated onto
azobenzene materials film contact with patterned elastomeric molds
(<i>i</i>.<i>e</i>., PDMS) so that the resulting
vertical directional movement of azobenzene materials fills in the
cavities of the molds and results in pattern formation. As a result,
a range of patterns with sizes of features from micro- to sub-100
nm scale was successfully fabricated in a large area (few cm<sup>2</sup>), and the structural height was deterministically controlled by
simply adjusting irradiation time. In addition to the notable capability
of fabricating the single-scale structures, the technique provides
a facile way to fabricate complex hierarchical multiscale structures,
ensuring its versatility and wide applicability to various applications.
As a selected exemplary application of the multiscale structures,
a superhydrophobic surface has been successfully demonstrated
