Kole Thomas P, Liao Kuo-Tang, Schiffels Daniel, Ilic B Robert, Strychalski Elizabeth A, Kralj Jason G, Liddle J Alexander, Dritschilo Anatoly, Stavis Samuel M
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899; MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Department of Radiation Medicine, Washington, DC 20007.
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899; University of Maryland, Maryland Nanocenter, College Park, MD 20740.
J Res Natl Inst Stand Technol. 2015 Nov 17;120:252-69. doi: 10.6028/jres.120.015. eCollection 2015.
This article reports a process for rapidly prototyping nanofluidic devices, particularly those comprising slits with microscale widths and nanoscale depths, in silicone. This process consists of designing a nanofluidic device, fabricating a photomask, fabricating a device mold in epoxy photoresist, molding a device in silicone, cutting and punching a molded silicone device, bonding a silicone device to a glass substrate, and filling the device with aqueous solution. By using a bilayer of hard and soft silicone, we have formed and filled nanofluidic slits with depths of less than 400 nm and aspect ratios of width to depth exceeding 250 without collapse of the slits. An important attribute of this article is that the description of this rapid prototyping process is very comprehensive, presenting context and details which are highly relevant to the rational implementation and reliable repetition of the process. Moreover, this process makes use of equipment commonly found in nanofabrication facilities and research laboratories, facilitating the broad adaptation and application of the process. Therefore, while this article specifically informs users of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), we anticipate that this information will be generally useful for the nanofabrication and nanofluidics research communities at large, and particularly useful for neophyte nanofabricators and nanofluidicists.
本文报道了一种在硅树脂中快速制作纳米流体装置原型的工艺，特别是那些包含具有微米级宽度和纳米级深度狭缝的装置。该工艺包括设计纳米流体装置、制作光掩膜、在环氧光刻胶中制作装置模具、在硅树脂中模制装置、切割和冲压模制好的硅树脂装置、将硅树脂装置粘结到玻璃基板上以及用水溶液填充装置。通过使用硬硅树脂和软硅树脂的双层结构，我们已经形成并填充了深度小于400纳米且宽深比超过250的纳米流体狭缝，狭缝没有塌陷。本文的一个重要特点是对这种快速制作原型工艺的描述非常全面，给出了与该工艺的合理实施和可靠重复高度相关的背景和细节。此外，该工艺使用了纳米制造设施和研究实验室中常见的设备，便于该工艺的广泛采用和应用。因此，虽然本文专门为美国国家标准与技术研究院（NIST）的纳米尺度科学与技术中心（CNST）的用户提供信息，但我们预计这些信息对广大纳米制造和纳米流体研究群体普遍有用，尤其对初涉纳米制造和纳米流体领域的人员有用。
