Challa Pavan K, Kartanas Tadas, Charmet Jérôme, Knowles Tuomas P J
Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge , Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.
Biomicrofluidics. 2017 Feb 17;11(1):014113. doi: 10.1063/1.4976690. eCollection 2017 Jan.
Current lithography approaches underpinning the fabrication of microfluidic devices rely on UV exposure of photoresists to define microstructures in these materials. Conventionally, this objective is achieved with gas discharge mercury lamps, which are capable of producing high intensity UV radiation. However, these sources are costly, have a comparatively short lifetime, necessitate regular calibration, and require significant time to warm up prior to exposure taking place. To address these limitations we exploit advances in solid state sources in the UV range and describe a fast and robust wafer-scale laboratory exposure system relying entirely on UV-Light emitting diode (UV-LED) illumination. As an illustration of the potential of this system for fast and low-cost microfluidic device production, we demonstrate the microfabrication of a 3D spray-drying microfluidic device and a 3D double junction microdroplet maker device.
当前用于制造微流控器件的光刻方法依赖于对光刻胶进行紫外线曝光，以在这些材料中定义微结构。传统上，这一目标是通过气体放电汞灯实现的，汞灯能够产生高强度紫外线辐射。然而，这些光源成本高昂，使用寿命相对较短，需要定期校准，并且在曝光前需要大量时间预热。为了解决这些限制，我们利用了紫外波段固态光源的进展，并描述了一种完全依赖紫外发光二极管（UV-LED）照明的快速且稳健的晶圆级实验室曝光系统。作为该系统在快速和低成本微流控器件生产方面潜力的一个例证，我们展示了一种3D喷雾干燥微流控器件和一种3D双结微滴制造器件的微制造过程。
