An Ultra-Micro-Volume Adhesive Transfer Method and Its Application in fL–pL-Level Adhesive Distribution

Abstract

This study is aimed at addressing the urgent demand for ultra-micro-precision dispensing technology in high-performance micro- and nanometer encapsulation, connection, and assembly manufacturing, considering the great influence of colloid viscosity and surface tension on the dispensing process in micro- and nanometer scale. According to the principle of liquid transfer, a method of adhesive transfer that can realize fL–pL levels is studied in this paper. A mathematical model describing the initial droplet volume and the transfer droplet volume was established, and the factors affecting the transfer process of adhesive were analyzed by the model. The theoretical model of the transfer droplet volume was verified by a 3D scanning method. The relationships between the transfer droplet volume and the initial droplet volume, stay time, initial distance, and stretching speed were systematically analyzed by a single-factor experiment, and the adhesive transfer rate was calculated. Combined with trajectory planning, continuous automatic dispensing experiments with different patterns were developed, and the problems of the transfer droplet size, appearance quality, and position accuracy were analyzed comprehensively. The results show that the average relative deviation of the transfer droplet lattice position obtained by the dispensing method in this paper was 6.2%. The minimum radius of the transfer droplet was 11.7 μm, and the minimum volume of the transfer droplet was 573.3 fL. Furthermore, microporous encapsulation was realized using the method of ultra-micro-dispensing.