{
  "abstract": "Pattern formation driven by mechanical stress plays a fundamental role in shaping structural organization in both natural and human-made systems. Using light as a vectorial stimulus may offer a powerful route to control stress-induced pattern formation in materials. However, achieving localized, programmable, and predictable control of individual microstructures via structured polarization fields has remained a major challenge. Here, we introduce vectorial field-guided lithography, a novel approach that leverages fully structured polarization fields as lithographic tools to enable the stress-driven reconfiguration of pre-patterned azopolymer microstructures with an unprecedented degree of flexibility, complexity, and diversity. By building on the Viscoplastic PhotoAlignment model, which describes the azopolymer deformation as a stress response to structured light, we quantitatively demonstrate and predict complex surface architectures generated by programmable light-induced stress pathways using a digital polarization rotator implemented via a spatial light modulator. We model and experimentally achieve single-step formation of anisotropic, bent, and chiral microstructures from a single pre-patterned geometry. Our results reveal an exceptional control over local microstructure morphology and establish, for the first time, a comprehensive theoretical framework capable of quantitatively designing and fabricating target morphologies on azopolymers. This work moves beyond conventional intensity-based photopatterning and demonstrates that the full vectorial nature of light can dictate the mechanical reshaping of functional polymer surfaces, providing a new platform for the programmable design of complex microarchitectures with applications in photonics, microfluidics, and biology.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2506.06857",
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "I Komang Januariyasa"
    },
    {
      "name": "Francesco Reda"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nikolai Liubimtsev"
    },
    {
      "name": "Pawan Patel"
    },
    {
      "name": "Cody Pedersen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Fabio Borbone"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marcella Salvatore"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marina Saphiannikova"
    },
    {
      "name": "David J. Mcgee"
    },
    {
      "name": "Stefano Luigi Oscurato"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bbc538kqqwrp4.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41377-025-02174-5",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "bbc538kqqwrp4",
  "issns": [
    "2095-5545",
    "2047-7538"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05789705v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "hal",
      "0.phys"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "1.phys.phys"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "2.phys.phys.phys-optics"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2210|Advanced Materials and Mechanics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W4417122043",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-025-02174-5.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-09",
  "publisher": "Nature Publishing Group",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bbc538kqqwrp4.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:52Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05789705",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05789705v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "hal:2.phys.phys.phys-optics",
      "subfield": "optics-photonics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Stress-driven photo-reconfiguration of surface microstructures via vectorial field-guided lithography",
  "title_text": "Stress-driven photo-reconfiguration of surface microstructures via vectorial field-guided lithography",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:52Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bbc538kqqwrp4",
  "venue": "Light: Science and Applications",
  "versions": []
}