Microfabricated devices and method of manufacturing the same
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
InventorsDavid J. Beebe, Jeffrey S. Moore
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Abstract
Microfabricated devices and methods of manufacturing the devices are disclosed. The devices are manufactured from a substrate having microscale fluid channels, and polymerizing a polymerizable mixture in the channels to form stimuli-responsive operating components of the device. The operating components can be functional or structural components. The method of manufacture obviates the traditional assembly of microscale components to form a device because the microscale components are formed in situ on or within the device.
Claims33
A method of manufacturing a microscale component of a microscale device comprising:
- (a) providing a substrate;
- (b) forming one or more microscale channels in the substrate;
- (c) introducing a liquid polymerizable mixture into the channel;
- (d) optically masking the channel to permit exposure of the polymerizable mixture to a polymerization-initiating energy source at a preselected location along the channel;
- (e) exposing the channel to the energy source for a sufficient time to polymerize the polymerizable mixture at the preselected location of the channel to form a polymer gel;
- and
- (f) removing residual unreacted polymerizable mixture from the channel to provide the microscale component in the channel as a polymer gel.
A method of manufacturing a functional microscale component of a microscale device comprising:
- (a) providing a transparent cell having a cavity;
- (b) introducing a blend of structural monomers into the cavity;
- (c) optically masking the cavity to define one or more channels in the cell and to permit exposure of the unmasked structural monomer blend to a polymerization-initiating energy source;
- (d) exposing the cell to the energy source for a sufficient time to polymerize the structural monomer blend at unmasked locations in the cell to form microchannels;
- (e) removing residual unreacted monomer blend from the substrate to provide the channels in the cell;
- (f) introducing a second liquid polymerizable mixture comprising functional monomers into the channels;
- (g) optically masking the channels to permit exposure of the second polymerizable mixture to a polymerization-initiating energy source at a preselected location along the channel;
- (h) exposing the channel to the energy source for a sufficient time to polymerize the second polymerizable mixture at the preselected location of the channel to form a polymer gel;
- and
- (i) removing residual unreacted second polymerizable mixture from the channel to provide the functional microscale component in the channel as a polymer gel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.