Fabrication of Perforated PDMS Microchannel by Successive Laser Pyrolysis

Abstract

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) has attracted much attention in soft lithography and has also been preferred as a platform for a photochemical reaction, thanks to its outstanding characteristics including ease of use, nontoxicity, and high optical transmittance. However, the low stiffness of PDMS, an obvious advantage for soft lithography, is often treated as an obstacle in conducting precise handling or maintaining its structural integrity. For these reasons, a Glass-PDMS-Glass structure has emerged as a straightforward alternative. Nevertheless, several challenges are remaining in fabricating Glass-PDMS-Glass structure through the conventional PDMS patterning techniques such as photolithography and etching processes for master mold. The complicated techniques are not suitable for frequent design modifications in research-oriented fields, and fabrication of perforated PDMS is hard to achieve using mold replication. Herein, we utilize the successive laser pyrolysis technique to pattern thin-film PDMS for microfluidic applications. The direct use of thin film at the glass surface prevents the difficulties of thin-film handling. Through the precise control of photothermal pyrolysis phenomena, we provide a facile fabrication process for perforated PDMS microchannels. In the final demonstration, the laminar flow has been successfully created owing to the smooth surface profile. We envision further applications using rapid prototyping of the perforated PDMS microchannel.