Abhishek K Agarwal et al 2006 J. Micromech. Microeng. 16 332 doi:10.1088/0960-1317/16/2/018
Abhishek K Agarwal1, David J Beebe2 and Hongrui Jiang1
Show affiliationsIn this paper we demonstrate, using a fabrication technique, liquid-phase photopolymerization (LP3) for the relatively fast and low-cost integration of thick polymers and electroformed metal microstructures to develop a range of microfluidic components and systems. Liquid-phase UV-photosensitive polymers, similar to negative-tone photoresists, are used to create both polymer microstructures and molds to define electroformed metal (here, nickel—Ni) microstructures. This fabrication process can act as a stand-alone or appended one; it is gentle to allow processing after a metal structure has been released since fabrication occurs only at designated areas on a substrate, i.e. no spinning/casting of photosensitive materials, and self-planarization is achieved since photopolymerization of polymers occurs in the liquid phase. Photopatterned polymer and electroformed Ni microstructures are fabricated using LP3 with a low-end (low-cost) lithographic system. A variety of functional microfluidic components and systems, e.g., an active and a passive chaotic micromixer, and gear trains, are fabricated by utilizing a sequential step-and-repeat LP3 process to demonstrate the integration of polymers and metals.
61.41.+e Polymers, elastomers, and plastics
82.45.-h Electrochemistry and electrophoresis
Issue 2 (February 2006)
Received 6 August 2005, in final form 15 December 2005
Published 9 January 2006
Abhishek K Agarwal et al 2006 J. Micromech. Microeng. 16 332
Hongrui Jiang et al 2002 J. Micromech. Microeng. 12 87
M. Takamiya 1999 ApJS 122 109
O Hosten et al 2003 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 36 2455
Z Akdeniz et al 2005 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 38 2933
Bogdan F Gh Popescu et al 2009 Phys. Med. Biol. 54 651
M M Taddei et al 2009 Eur. J. Phys. 30 965
Eunja Kim et al 1994 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 6 9561
Woo-Gwang Jung et al 2006 Nanotechnology 17 54
Eunja Kim et al 1992 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 4 6443