Beetle-inspired bidirectional, asymmetric interlocking using geometry-tunable nanohairs

We present bidirectional, asymmetric interlocking behaviors between tilted micro- and nanohair arrays inspired from the actual wing locking device of beetles. The measured shear adhesion force between two identical tilted microhair arrays (1.5 μm radius, 30 μm height) turned out to be higher in the reverse direction than that in the angled direction, suggesting that the directionality of beetle's microtrichia may play a critical role in preventing the elytra from shifting along the middle of insect body. Furthermore, we observed dramatic enhancement of shear adhesion using asymmetric interlocking of various nanohair arrays (tilting angle, δ < 40°). A maximum shear locking force of ∼60 N/cm ² was measured for the nanohair arrays of 50 nm radius and 1 μm height with a hysteresis as high as ∼3. A simple theoretical model was developed to describe the measured asymmetric adhesion forces and hysteresis, in good agreement with the experimental data.