An all-glass bifurcation microfluidic chip for blood plasma separation was fabricated by a cost-effective glass molding process using an amorphous carbon (AC) mold, which in turn was fabricated by the carbonization of a replicated furan precursor. To compensate for the shrinkage during AC mold fabrication, an enlarged photoresist pattern master was designed, and an AC mold with a dimensional error of 2.9% was achieved; the dimensional error of the master pattern was 1.6%. In the glass molding process, a glass microchannel plate with negligible shape errors (~1.5%) compared to AC mold was replicated. Finally, an all-glass bifurcation microfluidic chip was realized by micro drilling and thermal fusion bonding processes. A separation efficiency of 74% was obtained using the fabricated all-glass bifurcation microfluidic chip.

This study reports a cost-effective method of replicating glass microfluidic chips using a vitreous carbon (VC) stamp. A glass replica with the required microfluidic microstructures was synthesized without etching. The replication method uses a VC stamp fabricated by combining thermal replication using a furan-based, thermally-curable polymer with carbonization. To test the feasibility of this method, a flow focusing droplet generator with flow-focusing and channel widths of 50 µm and 100 µm, respectively, was successfully fabricated in a soda-lime glass substrate. Deviation between the geometries of the initial shape and the vitreous carbon mold occurred because of shrinkage during the carbonization process, however this effect could be predicted and compensated for. Finally, the monodispersity of the droplets generated by the fabricated microfluidic device was evaluated.

Replicated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micro/nanostructures are widely used in various research fields due to their inexpensiveness, flexibility, low surface energy, good optical properties, biocompatibility, chemical inertness, high durability, and easy fabrication process. However, the application of PDMS micro/nanostructures is limited when an accurate pattern shape or position is required because of the shrinkage that occurs during the PDMS curing process. In this study, we analyzed the effects of processing parameters in the PDMS replication process on the shrinkage of the final structure. Although the shrinkage can be decreased by decreasing the curing temperature, this reduction also increases the unnecessary curing time. To minimize the inherent shrinkage in the PDMS replica without an accompanying curing time increase, we propose a PDMS replication process on a high modulus substrate (glass and polymer films) with compression pressure, in which the adhesion force between the substrate and the PDMS, and the compression pressure prevent shrinkage during the curing process. Using the proposed method, a PDMS replica with less than 0.1% in-plane and vertical shrinkage was obtained at a curing temperature of 150°C and a curing time of 10 min.

Glancing angle deposition (GLAD) process has been regarded as an efficient method to fabricate nanostructured surfaces for enhanced boiling heat transfer because of its simplicity and variety of material selection. In this study, the effects of structural parameters (particularly the orientation and length of GLAD nanostructures) on boiling heat transfer were analyzed. The boiling heat transfer characteristics of Ag GLAD nanorods on a silicon substrate were examined using pool boiling experiments with deionized water. The vertical nanorod provided better performance than a slanted one, and a length of 200 nm was selected as the optimal length for maximizing the boiling heat transfer. A pool boiling critical heat flux of 20.6 W/cm2 was obtained for a 200 nm tall Ag-vertical nanostructure, and 13.6 W/cm2 was obtained for plain Ni-Ag layer on Si substrate. A 420% enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient was successfully achieved on a nanostructured surface compared to a plain Ni-Ag layer.