Fabrication method of topographically modulated microstructures using pattern homogenization with UV light

A method of fabricating a device comprising the steps of:

• forming a swatch in a mask with a plurality of 8×4 pixels that differ in average grayscale tone;
• exposing a photoresist material to UV light through the mask with transparent and opaque pixels;
• holding the product of n×a>5500 μm per unit of patterned area (in mm2) in the swatch so that the pattern is transferred to the photoresist material as a homogeneous smooth surface, wherein n is the number of transparent pixels/mm2 and a is a pixel length (μm);
• and fabricating from the photoresist material a three dimensional microfluidic device with a plurality of microstructures with a modulated topography while inducing a homogenization effect.

A method of fabricating a device comprising the steps of:

• providing a mask with transparent and opaque pixels;
• providing a photoresist material with an optical adhesive having low contrast;
• subjecting the photoresist material to UV light;
• promoting partial polymerization in areas of the photoresist material subject to diffracted UV light;
• transferring discrete patterns from the mask as homogeneous patterns to the photoresist material while holding the product of n×a>5500 μm per unit of patterned area (in mm2) in the mask, wherein n is the number of transparent pixels/mm2 and a is a pixel length (μm);
• and creating at least one 3D microchannel in the photoresist material while inducing a homogenization effect.