Modeling of large area hot embossing

Today, hot embossing and injection molding belong to the established plastic molding processes in microengineering. Based on experimental findings, a variety of microstructures have been replicated so far using the processes. However, with increasing requirements regarding the embossing surface and the simultaneous decrease of the structure size down into the nanorange, increasing know-how is needed to adapt hot embossing to industrial standards. To reach this objective, a German-Canadian cooperation project has been launched to study hot embossing theoretically by a process simulation and experimentally. The present publication shall report about the first results of the simulation - the modeling and simulation of large area replication based on an eight inch microstructured mold.Comment: Submitted on behalf of EDA Publishing Association (http://irevues.inist.fr/EDA-Publishing

Numerical simulation of a thermoviscoelastic frictional problem with application to the hot-embossing process for manufacturing of microcomponents

Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Microfluidic Plastic Devices for Single-use Applications in High-Throughput Screening and DNA-Analysis

Microfluidic devices fabricated by mass production offer an immense potential of applications such as high-throughput drug screening, clinical diagnostics and gene analysis [1]. The low unit production costs of plastic substrates make it possible to produce single-use devices, eliminating the need for cleaning and reuse [2]. Fabrication of microfluidic devices can be applied by microtechnical fabrication processes in combination with plastic molding techniques [3]. Basically, replication in plastics requires a hot embossing or injection molding tool. Various microfabrication technologies for the masterfabrication are established, such as the LIGA technique, mechanical micromachining and the micro electrical discharge machining technique (µEDM). Depending on the specific requirements, the most suitable process can be selected. The availability of these technologies allows to generate robust metal molding tools which exhibit the inverse shapes of the intended microstructures. In close collaboration, Greiner Labortechnik and Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe have fabricated prototype single-use plastic microfluidic devices in a standard microplate format by hot embossing with a mechanical micromachined molding tool and subsequent sealing of the microchannels. The microfluidic lab-on-chip structures are compatible with existing plate and liquid handling robotics. Sub-microliter sample volumes can be applied in the 96-channel multiplexed microstructures. Additionally, the combination of small assay volumes and the possibilities of integrated capillary electrophoretic separation provide a powerful tool for rapid assay development. This presentation will show a low cost production of 96-channel plastic microfluidic devices including various microfabrication technologies to demonstrate the application of microtechnical fabrication processes for high-throughput screening and DNA analysis

Unconventional Low-Cost Fabrication and Patterning Techniques for Point of Care Diagnostics

The potential of rapid, quantitative, and sensitive diagnosis has led to many innovative ‘lab on chip’ technologies for point of care diagnostic applications. Because these chips must be designed within strict cost constraints to be widely deployable, recent research in this area has produced extremely novel non-conventional micro- and nano-fabrication innovations. These advances can be leveraged for other biological assays as well, including for custom assay development and academic prototyping. The technologies reviewed here leverage extremely low-cost substrates and easily adoptable ways to pattern both structural and biological materials at high resolution in unprecedented ways. These new approaches offer the promise of more rapid prototyping with less investment in capital equipment as well as greater flexibility in design. Though still in their infancy, these technologies hold potential to improve upon the resolution, sensitivity, flexibility, and cost-savings over more traditional approaches