Ciganas Justas, Griskevicius Paulius, Palevicius Arvydas, Urbaite Sigita, Janusas Giedrius
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu 56, 51424 Kaunas, Lithuania.
Micromachines (Basel). 2022 Sep 30;13(10):1655. doi: 10.3390/mi13101655.
Polymeric microstructures and microchannels are widely used in biomedical devices, optics, microfluidics and fiber optics. The quality, the shape, the spacing and the curvature of microstructure gratings are influenced by different mechanisms and fabrication techniques used. This paper demonstrates a cost-effective way for patterning high-aspect-ratio thermoplastic microstructures using thermal imprint technology and finite element modeling. Polymeric materials polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) were chosen for the experimental investigations. A finite element model was constructed to define the most suitable parameters (time, heating temperature, pressure, etc.) for the formation of microstructures using the thermal imprint procedure. To confirm the relevance of the finite element model, different types of PP, PETG, PVC and SAN microstructures were fabricated using theoretically defined parameters. Experimental investigations of imprinted microstructures' morphological and optical properties were performed using scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and a diffractometer. Obtained results confirmed the relevance of the created finite element model which was applied in the formation of high-aspect-ratio microstructures. Application of this model in thermal imprint would not only reduce the fabrication time, but also would highly increase the surface quality and optical properties of the formed structures.
聚合物微结构和微通道广泛应用于生物医学设备、光学、微流体和光纤领域。微结构光栅的质量、形状、间距和曲率受到不同机制和所采用制造技术的影响。本文展示了一种使用热压印技术和有限元建模对高纵横比热塑性微结构进行图案化的经济有效方法。选择了聚合物材料聚丙烯（PP）、聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PETG）、聚氯乙烯（PVC）和苯乙烯 - 丙烯腈（SAN）进行实验研究。构建了一个有限元模型，以确定使用热压印工艺形成微结构的最合适参数（时间、加热温度、压力等）。为了证实有限元模型的相关性，使用理论定义的参数制造了不同类型的PP、PETG、PVC和SAN微结构。使用扫描电子显微镜、原子力显微镜和衍射仪对压印微结构的形态和光学性质进行了实验研究。获得的结果证实了所创建的有限元模型在高纵横比微结构形成中的相关性。该模型在热压印中的应用不仅会减少制造时间，还会显著提高所形成结构的表面质量和光学性质。
