Comparison of different molds (epoxy, polymer and silicon) for microfabrication by hot embossing technique
In the fabrication of microfluidic devices by hot embossing, secondary molds made from epoxy and other polymeric materials with high Tg are commonly used in lab-scale research and for short production runs of several hundred products. However, few studies have been conducted to compare the performan...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2013
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/97844 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/12099 |
| _version_ | 1824453935849537536 |
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| author | Gupta, A. Tang, P. S. Jena, Rajeeb Kumar Yue, Chee Yoon Lam, Yee Cheong |
| author2 | School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering |
| author_facet | School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Gupta, A. Tang, P. S. Jena, Rajeeb Kumar Yue, Chee Yoon Lam, Yee Cheong |
| author_sort | Gupta, A. |
| collection | NTU |
| description | In the fabrication of microfluidic devices by hot embossing, secondary molds made from epoxy and other polymeric materials with high Tg are commonly used in lab-scale research and for short production runs of several hundred products. However, few studies have been conducted to compare the performance and efficacy of such molds compared to the master silicon mold. To allow such molds to be exploited fully, this study investigates the performance of silicon, epoxy and COC (TOPAS-6017 grade) molds to fabricate microchannels on COC (TOPAS-8007 grade) substrate using hot embossing. The degree of filling of the mold cavity during microfabrication was assessed. At the optimum embossing conditions (i.e. 100 °C, 2.94 kN load and 5 min loading time), all three molds had similar performance in terms of replication fidelity. However, at sub-optimum conditions (e.g. 80 °C), the silicon mold was the best in terms of mold cavity filling followed by COC and epoxy. For surface roughness and friction coefficient which are important factors affecting tool life, it was found that epoxy mold gives the lowest values followed by COC and silicon. The surface energy determined using contact angle measurements gave a similar trend with epoxy having the lowest surface energy (28 dyne/cm), followed by COC (33.52 dyne/cm) and silicon (71.63 dynedyne/cm). A lower surface energy will result in lower adhesion and friction coefficient between the polymer and mold, resulting in easier demolding. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:14:20Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/97844 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:14:20Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/978442020-03-07T13:22:16Z Comparison of different molds (epoxy, polymer and silicon) for microfabrication by hot embossing technique Gupta, A. Tang, P. S. Jena, Rajeeb Kumar Yue, Chee Yoon Lam, Yee Cheong School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Singapore-MIT Alliance Programme DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering In the fabrication of microfluidic devices by hot embossing, secondary molds made from epoxy and other polymeric materials with high Tg are commonly used in lab-scale research and for short production runs of several hundred products. However, few studies have been conducted to compare the performance and efficacy of such molds compared to the master silicon mold. To allow such molds to be exploited fully, this study investigates the performance of silicon, epoxy and COC (TOPAS-6017 grade) molds to fabricate microchannels on COC (TOPAS-8007 grade) substrate using hot embossing. The degree of filling of the mold cavity during microfabrication was assessed. At the optimum embossing conditions (i.e. 100 °C, 2.94 kN load and 5 min loading time), all three molds had similar performance in terms of replication fidelity. However, at sub-optimum conditions (e.g. 80 °C), the silicon mold was the best in terms of mold cavity filling followed by COC and epoxy. For surface roughness and friction coefficient which are important factors affecting tool life, it was found that epoxy mold gives the lowest values followed by COC and silicon. The surface energy determined using contact angle measurements gave a similar trend with epoxy having the lowest surface energy (28 dyne/cm), followed by COC (33.52 dyne/cm) and silicon (71.63 dynedyne/cm). A lower surface energy will result in lower adhesion and friction coefficient between the polymer and mold, resulting in easier demolding. 2013-07-24T04:14:05Z 2019-12-06T19:47:18Z 2013-07-24T04:14:05Z 2019-12-06T19:47:18Z 2012 2012 Journal Article Jena, R. K., Yue, C. Y., Lam, Y. C., Tang, P. S., & Gupta, A. (2012). Comparison of different molds (epoxy, polymer and silicon) for microfabrication by hot embossing technique. Sensors and actuators B : chemical, 163(1), 233-241. 0925-4005 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/97844 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/12099 10.1016/j.snb.2012.01.043 en Sensors and actuators B : chemical © 2012 Elsevier B.V. |
| spellingShingle | DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering Gupta, A. Tang, P. S. Jena, Rajeeb Kumar Yue, Chee Yoon Lam, Yee Cheong Comparison of different molds (epoxy, polymer and silicon) for microfabrication by hot embossing technique |
| title | Comparison of different molds (epoxy, polymer and silicon) for microfabrication by hot embossing technique |
| title_full | Comparison of different molds (epoxy, polymer and silicon) for microfabrication by hot embossing technique |
| title_fullStr | Comparison of different molds (epoxy, polymer and silicon) for microfabrication by hot embossing technique |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparison of different molds (epoxy, polymer and silicon) for microfabrication by hot embossing technique |
| title_short | Comparison of different molds (epoxy, polymer and silicon) for microfabrication by hot embossing technique |
| title_sort | comparison of different molds epoxy polymer and silicon for microfabrication by hot embossing technique |
| topic | DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/97844 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/12099 |
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