A Customizable and Low-Cost Ultraviolet Exposure System for Photolithography
For microfluidic device fabrication in the research, industry, and commercial areas, the curing and transfer of patterns on photoresist relies on ultraviolet (UV) light. Often, this step is performed by commercial mask aligner or UV lamp exposure systems; however, these machines are often expensive,...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Micromachines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/13/12/2129 |
| _version_ | 1797456237273546752 |
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| author | David Eun Reynolds Olivia Lewallen George Galanis Jina Ko |
| author_facet | David Eun Reynolds Olivia Lewallen George Galanis Jina Ko |
| author_sort | David Eun Reynolds |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For microfluidic device fabrication in the research, industry, and commercial areas, the curing and transfer of patterns on photoresist relies on ultraviolet (UV) light. Often, this step is performed by commercial mask aligner or UV lamp exposure systems; however, these machines are often expensive, large, and inaccessible. To find an alternative solution, we present an inexpensive, customizable, and lightweight UV exposure system that is user-friendly and readily available for a homemade cleanroom. We fabricated a portable UV exposure system that costs under $200. The wafer holder’s adjustable height enabled for the selection of the appropriate curing distance, demonstrating our system’s ability to be easily tailored for different applications. The high light uniformity across a 4” diameter wafer holder (light intensity error ~2.9%) was achieved by adding a light diffusing film to the apparatus. These values are comparable to the light uniformity across a 5” diameter wafer holder from a commercial mask aligner (ABM 3000HR Mask Aligner), that has a light intensity error of ~4.0%. We demonstrated the ability to perform photolithography with high quality by fabricating microfluidic devices and generating uniform microdroplets. We achieved comparable quality to the wafer patterns, microfluidic devices, and droplets made from the ABM 3000HR Mask Aligner. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:05:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9733f4bcd13e41a98257d3ab37a03c93 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:05:21Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj.art-9733f4bcd13e41a98257d3ab37a03c932023-11-24T16:44:39ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2022-12-011312212910.3390/mi13122129A Customizable and Low-Cost Ultraviolet Exposure System for PhotolithographyDavid Eun Reynolds0Olivia Lewallen1George Galanis2Jina Ko3Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USADepartment of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADepartment of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USAFor microfluidic device fabrication in the research, industry, and commercial areas, the curing and transfer of patterns on photoresist relies on ultraviolet (UV) light. Often, this step is performed by commercial mask aligner or UV lamp exposure systems; however, these machines are often expensive, large, and inaccessible. To find an alternative solution, we present an inexpensive, customizable, and lightweight UV exposure system that is user-friendly and readily available for a homemade cleanroom. We fabricated a portable UV exposure system that costs under $200. The wafer holder’s adjustable height enabled for the selection of the appropriate curing distance, demonstrating our system’s ability to be easily tailored for different applications. The high light uniformity across a 4” diameter wafer holder (light intensity error ~2.9%) was achieved by adding a light diffusing film to the apparatus. These values are comparable to the light uniformity across a 5” diameter wafer holder from a commercial mask aligner (ABM 3000HR Mask Aligner), that has a light intensity error of ~4.0%. We demonstrated the ability to perform photolithography with high quality by fabricating microfluidic devices and generating uniform microdroplets. We achieved comparable quality to the wafer patterns, microfluidic devices, and droplets made from the ABM 3000HR Mask Aligner.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/13/12/2129UV exposure systemphotolithographydroplet microfluidicslow-costportable |
| spellingShingle | David Eun Reynolds Olivia Lewallen George Galanis Jina Ko A Customizable and Low-Cost Ultraviolet Exposure System for Photolithography Micromachines UV exposure system photolithography droplet microfluidics low-cost portable |
| title | A Customizable and Low-Cost Ultraviolet Exposure System for Photolithography |
| title_full | A Customizable and Low-Cost Ultraviolet Exposure System for Photolithography |
| title_fullStr | A Customizable and Low-Cost Ultraviolet Exposure System for Photolithography |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Customizable and Low-Cost Ultraviolet Exposure System for Photolithography |
| title_short | A Customizable and Low-Cost Ultraviolet Exposure System for Photolithography |
| title_sort | customizable and low cost ultraviolet exposure system for photolithography |
| topic | UV exposure system photolithography droplet microfluidics low-cost portable |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/13/12/2129 |
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