Metal Forming Using Underwater Shock Waves and Polymer Molds

Metasurfaces, functional surfaces with sub-wavelength structures, offer promising advancements in fields like communication, energy, and medicine. Mass production could be achieved through a breakthrough imprinting technology using shock waves to compress polymer nano-molds and metal samples. Experiments and simulations revealed that under high pressure, polymer molds temporarily lose shape but recover during pressure release, continuing to compress and deform the metal. This deformation is driven not by strain rate strengthening of the polymer, but by the shape recovery process. Even at the nanoscale, shock waves cause this recovery as they propagate and reflect through the mold and metal.