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Published on: August 17, 2017
Microstructures formed on a low fluorescent glass using glassy carbon molding
T Sasaki1, M Takahashi, R Maeda
1Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Technology Research Institute Nishigaoka 3-13-10, Kita-ku, Tokyo 115-8586, Japan.
Summary
Hot embossing technology was used to create microstructures on glass for bio-MEMS devices. This cost-effective method efficiently fabricates patterns for sensitive fluorescent detection applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Microfabrication
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Fabricating microstructures on glass is crucial for advanced applications like bio-MEMS.
- Plastic substrates often lack the necessary properties for highly sensitive fluorescent detection.
- Developing cost-effective and efficient patterning methods for glass is an ongoing challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a novel pattern generation method on glass using hot embossing.
- To demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating microstructures for bio-MEMS devices.
- To enable highly sensitive fluorescent detection applications through glass microfabrication.
Main Methods:
- Hot embossing of Borofloat glass using a glassy carbon mold with cubic block patterns (100 µm x 100 µm x 50 µm).
- Embossing parameters: 655°C, 2 MPa pressure, 0.07 Pa vacuum, 20 min hold time, natural cooling to 200°C.
- Mold fabrication involved laser machining of a multi-channel pattern (70 µm line, 400 µm space) on a glassy carbon wafer.
Main Results:
- Successful transfer of microstructures from the glassy carbon mold to the Borofloat glass.
- Replication of cubic block patterns and multi-channel patterns on glass chips.
- Fabrication cycle time of approximately 1.5 hours per pattern generation.
Conclusions:
- Hot embossing is a viable and efficient method for generating microstructures on glass.
- The developed technique offers a low-cost solution for fabricating bio-MEMS devices.
- This approach holds significant potential for applications requiring highly sensitive fluorescent detection.
