Abstract
During the last few decades the use of MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems) has been steadily increasing in a number of industries, and especially in the medical industry. One application for MEMS is in micro-fluidic devices that rely on micro-channels (10 to 200 μm wide and deep) to direct and analyze fluids for medical diagnostics. Current methods for producing these features, including hot embossing and micro-injection molding, can be slow (1 to 10 minutes cycle time), are only amendable to batch processing and expensive. Fast surface heating embossing methods have the potential of producing micro-channels rapidly and inexpensively. Three embossing methods were studied: Ultrasonic, infrared radiation (IR) heating and hot gas heating. For IR and hot gas heating, a cold tool with the micro-features was pressed onto the surface immediately following heating. Similarly, for ultrasonic embossing the micro-features were machined on the surface of the horn. It was found that cycle times as short as a few seconds were achieved and the quality of the features was similar to those seen in injection molding. In addition FEA studies were conducted to simulate polymer flow during embossing.
Original language | English |
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Pages | 1094-1098 |
Number of pages | 5 |
State | Published - May 2003 |
Event | 61st Annual Technical Conference ANTEC 2003 - Nashville, TN, United States Duration: 4 May 2003 → 8 May 2003 |
Conference
Conference | 61st Annual Technical Conference ANTEC 2003 |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Nashville, TN |
Period | 4/05/03 → 8/05/03 |