The present invention is generally directed to improved microfluidic devices, systems and methods of using same, which incorporate channel profiles that impart significant benefits over previously described systems. In particular, the presently described devices and systems employ channels having, at least in part, depths that are varied over those which have been previously described. These varied channel depths provide numerous beneficial and unexpected results.

Microfluidic systems incorporating varied channel dimensions

A lithographic apparatus configured to project a patterned beam of radiation onto a target portion of a substrate is disclosed. The apparatus includes a first radiation dose detector and a second radiation dose detector, each detector comprising a secondary electron emission surface configured to receive a radiation flux and to emit secondary electrons due to the receipt of the radiation flux, the first radiation dose detector located upstream with respect to the second radiation dose detector viewed with respect to a direction of radiation transmission, and a meter, connected to each detector, to detect a current or voltage resulting from the secondary electron emission from the respective electron emission surface.

Lithographic apparatus, and device manufacturing method

This review provides an overview of major microengineering emulsification techniques for production of monodispersed droplets. The main emphasis has been put on membrane emulsification using Shirasu Porous Glass and microsieve membrane, microchannel emulsification using grooved-type and straight-through microchannel plates, microfluidic junctions and flow focusing microfluidic devices. Microfabrication methods for production of planar and 3D poly(dimethylsiloxane) devices, glass capillary microfluidic devices and single-crystal silicon microchannel array devices have been described including soft lithography, glass capillary pulling and microforging, hot embossing, anisotropic wet etching and deep reactive ion etching. In addition, fabrication methods for SPG and microseive membranes have been outlined, such as spinodal decomposition, reactive ion etching and ultraviolet LIGA (Lithography, Electroplating, and Moulding) process. The most widespread application of micromachined emulsification devices is in the synthesis of monodispersed particles and vesicles, such as polymeric particles, microgels, solid lipid particles, Janus particles, and functional vesicles (liposomes, polymersomes and colloidosomes). Glass capillary microfluidic devices are very suitable for production of core/shell drops of controllable shell thickness and multiple emulsions containing a controlled number of inner droplets and/or inner droplets of two or more distinct phases. Microchannel emulsification is a very promising technique for production of monodispersed droplets with droplet throughputs of up to 100 l h−1.

/pdf/production-of-uniform-droplets-using-membrane-microchannel-1i4zkihdxq.pdf

Production of uniform droplets using membrane, microchannel and microfluidic emulsification devices

In 1982, the first reports of laser ablation of polymers were issued almost simultaneously by Y. Kawamura et al.1 and R. Srinivasan et al.2 Srinivasan went on to become a leader in the field of polymer ablation. Srinivasan probably also coined the terms laser ablation and ablative photodecomposition, now in common use. The onset of material removal by laser ablation characteristically occurs at a well-defined laser fluence (energy per unit area). As the fluence is raised above this threshold, the ablation rate increases. The threshold fluence (F0 or Fth) is material and laser wavelength dependent and can vary from tens of mJ cm-2 to more than 1 J cm-2. The discovery of laser ablation of polymers sparked research in this field in many groups around the world. Many aspects of polymer ablation, and laser processing in general, are reviewed by Bauerle.3 Today, commercial applications of polymer laser ablation include the preparation of viaholes in polyimide for multichip modules at IBM4 and the production of inkjet printer nozzles (also polyimide).5 Considerable progress has been made in understanding polymer ablation since the last series of reviews a decade ago.6-8 New developments in polymer ablation include the application of femtosecond laser pulses, vacuum ultraviolet lasers (VUV), and free electron lasers (FEL). Some of these techniques have a great potential for the development of new applications and research tools. Much of this progress is discussed in this and other articles appearing in this special issue of Chemical Reviews. Current research on polymer ablation may be divided into two areas: (i) Applications of laser ablation, novel materials, and techniques. (ii) Studies of ablation mechanisms (databased modeling). The first area will be discussed in detail in this article, while the mechanistic aspects, especially the theoretical part, are discussed in other articles in this special issue. Many experimental methods and experimental polymers have been designed with a view toward improving our understanding of ablation mechanisms. It is often impossible to completely separate experiments designed to illuminate ablation mech† Paul Scherrer Institut. ‡ Washington State University. 453 Chem. Rev. 2003, 103, 453−485

/pdf/chemical-and-spectroscopic-aspects-of-polymer-ablation-sdd9ejfs8r.pdf

Chemical and spectroscopic aspects of polymer ablation: Special features and novel directions

Industrial lab-on-a-chip: Design, applications and scale-up for drug discovery and delivery

Micromachining Teflon was achieved by direct exposure to synchrotron radiation and the microstructures made had the smallest surface detail down to 20 μm with structural height of more than 200 μm, that is, aspect ratio on the order of 10. The quality of micromachining Teflon by this process was found to be critically dependent on photon flux of the synchrotron radiation. Analysis of the mass distribution of gaseous species formed upon this process suggested that photochemical processes rather than pyrolytic processes may still dominate.

High aspect ratio micromachining Teflon by direct exposure to synchrotron radiation

Synchrotron radiation (SR) direct micromachining of polymers was developed and high-aspect-ratio microparts of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) were made. The limitation of critical dependence on the photon flux was eliminated by processing PTFE at a temperature of 200–250°C, so that the process was greatly simplified and the aspect-ratios were improved with reducing the smallest surface detail to less than ten microns and achieving the largest structural height of one thousand microns. The decomposition mechanism was discussed with a comparison between the SR micromachining and laser ablation.

Synchrotron Radiation Micromachining of Polymers to Produce High-Aspect-Ratio Microparts

Micro molding is one of key technologies for mass production of polymer micro parts and structures with high aspect ratios. The authors developed a commercially available micro injection molding technology for high aspect ratio microstructures (HARMs) with LIGA-made mold inserts and pressurized CO2 gasses. The test inserts made of nickel with the smallest surface details of 5 μm with structural height of 15 μm were fabricated by using LIGA technology. High surface quality in terms of low surface roughness of the mold inserts allowed using for injection molding. Compared to standard inserts no draft, which is required to provide a proper demolding, was formed in the inserts. To meet higher economic efficiency and cost reduction, a fully electrical injection molding machine of higher accuracy has been applied with dissolving CO2 gasses into molten resin. The gasses acts as plasticizer and improves the flowability of the resin. Simultaneously, pressurizing the cavity with the gasses allows high replication to be obtained. Micro injection molding, using polycarbonate as polymer resins, with the aspect ratio of two was achieved in the area of 28 × 55 mm2 at the cycle time of 40 s with CO2 gasses, in contrast to the case of the aspect ratio of 0.1 without the gasses.

Micro injection molding for mass production using LIGA mold inserts

Microchannel (MC) emulsification is a promising technique for producing monodisperse emulsions consisting of highly uniform droplets. The authors developed a high-aspect-ratio microstructure (HARMST) made of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as a new MC emulsification device. A PMMA straight-through MC array plate consisting of 31,250 through-holes with a 7.3 × 22.9-μm oblong section and a 200-μm depth was fabricated by a process of synchrotron radiation (SR) lithography and etching. Oblong MCs fabricated in a PMMA straight-through MC array were highly uniform with a coefficient of variation of less than 2%. The fabricated PMMA straight-through MC array plate was used to produce water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions. Monodisperse W/O emulsions with average droplet diameters of approximately 25 μm and a minimum coefficient of variation of 3.2% were produced via a hydrophobic PMMA straight-through MC array. The PMMA straight-through MC array plate also produced monodisperse W/O emulsions at droplet production rates of up to 1.7 × 104/s. The PMMA straight-through MC array plates developed in this work are expected to expand the application field of emulsification using straight-through MC array plates, which have previously been made of single-crystal silicon.

High-aspect-ratio through-hole array microfabricated in a PMMA plate for monodisperse emulsion production

We have carried out micromachining of Teflon-polymers such as PTFE, PFA and FEP as well as optical crystal such as NaCl and LiF by synchrotron radiation direct (without any chemicals) photo-etching and succeeded in creating microstructures with very high aspect ratios. The maximum aspect-ratio achieved was 50 and the maximum processing depth was 1500 microns. Dependence of the etching rate on the synchrotron beam current and on the substrate temperature was studied. Based on the study, we could use only x-rays from the synchrotron radiation so as to apply x-ray lithography technology (such as using an x-ray mask and processing in He atmosphere) to our process. A rise in the sample temperature results in significant enhancement of the etching rate. The etching rate measured was on the order of a few 100 μm/min. So that this process is much faster than hard x-ray deep lithography for the processing of more than 100 μm deep microstructures.

Yanping Zhang

Papers

High aspect ratio micromachining Teflon by direct exposure to synchrotron radiation

Synchrotron Radiation Micromachining of Polymers to Produce High-Aspect-Ratio Microparts

Micro injection molding for mass production using LIGA mold inserts

High-aspect-ratio through-hole array microfabricated in a PMMA plate for monodisperse emulsion production

High aspect ratio micromachining by synchrotron radiation direct photo-etching