Polymer-based micromachining for microfluidic devices
First Claim
1. A method for fabricating microchannels, comprising the steps:
- a) providing a substrate, said substrate having upper and lower surfaces;
b) depositing a first polymer layer on said upper surface of said substrate, said first polymer layer having i) a lower surface contacting said upper surface of said substrate and ii) an upper surface;
c) depositing a second polymer layer on said upper surface of said first layer, said second polymer layer having i) a lower surface contacting said upper Surface of said first layer and ii) an upper surface;
d) exposing said first polymer, ande) sacrificially etching said first polymer layer under conditions such that said second polymer layer comprises walls of a microchannel.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to polymer-based micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technology suitable for the fabrication of integrated microfluidic systems, particularly medical and chemical diagnostics system, ink-jet printer head, as well as any devices that requires liquid- or gas-filled cavities for operation. The integrated microfluidic systems may consist of pumps, valves, channels, reservoirs cavities, reaction chambers, mixers, heaters, fluidic interconnects, diffusers, nozzles, and other microfluidic components on top of a regular circuit substrate. This technology is vastly superior than any alternatives available such as glass-based, polysilicon-based MEMS technology as well as hybrid `circuit board` technology because of its simple construction low cost, low temperature processing, and its ability to integrate any electronic circuitry easily along with the fluidic parts.
455 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for fabricating microchannels, comprising the steps:
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a) providing a substrate, said substrate having upper and lower surfaces; b) depositing a first polymer layer on said upper surface of said substrate, said first polymer layer having i) a lower surface contacting said upper surface of said substrate and ii) an upper surface; c) depositing a second polymer layer on said upper surface of said first layer, said second polymer layer having i) a lower surface contacting said upper Surface of said first layer and ii) an upper surface; d) exposing said first polymer, and e) sacrificially etching said first polymer layer under conditions such that said second polymer layer comprises walls of a microchannel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for fabricating microchannels, comprising the steps:
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a) providing a silicon substrate, said silicon substrate having tipper and lower surfaces; b) depositing a first polymer layer with a defined thickness of 0.5 to 100 μ
m on said upper surface of said silicon substrate, said first polymer layer having i) a lower surface contacting said upper surface of said silicon substrate and ii) an upper surface;c) photolithographically defining said first polymer; d) depositing a second polymer layer on said upper surface of said first layer, said second polymer layer having i) a lower surface contacting said upper surface of said first layer and ii) an upper surface; e) exposing said first polymer, and f) sacrificially etching said first polymer layer under conditions such that said second polymer layer comprises walls of a microchannel. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for fabricating microchannels, comprising the steps:
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a) providing a silicon wafer, said silicon wafer having upper and lower surfaces; b) depositing a first layer of a first polymer on said upper surface of said silicon wafer, said first polymer layer having i) a lower surface contacting said upper surface of said silicon wafer and ii) an upper surface; c) depositing a second polymer layer with a defined thickness of 0.5 to 100 μ
m on said upper surface of said first layer, said second polymer layer having i) a lower surface contacting said upper surface of said first layer and ii) an upper surface;d) photolithographically defining said second polymer; e) depositing a second layer of said first polymer on said upper surface of said second polymer layer, said second layer of said first polymer having i) a lower surface contacting said upper surface of said second polymer layer and ii) an upper surface; f) exposing said second polymer, g) sacrificially etching said second polymer layer under conditions such that said first and second layers of said first polymer comprise walls of a microchannel, said microchannel having a height defined by said thickness of said second polymer layer; and h) etching one or more openings in said walls of said microchannel. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification