• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.23 no.8 s.185
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• pp.178-184
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• 2006

Hot embossing is to fabricate desired pattern on the polymer substrate by pressing the patterned mold against the substrate which is heated above the glass transition temperature, and it is a high throughput fabrication method for bio chip, optical microstructure, etc. due to the simultaneous large area patterning. However, the bad pattern fidelity in large area patterning is one of the obstacles to applying the hot embossing technology for mass production. In the present study, PDMS pad was used as a cushion on the backside of the micro-patterned 4 inch Si mold to improve the pattern fidelity over the 4 inch PMMA sheet by increasing the conformal contact between the Si mold and the PMMA sheet. The pattern replicability improvement over 4 inch wafer scale was evaluated by comparing the replicated pattern height and depth for PDMS-cushioned Si mold against the rigid Si mold without PDMS cushion.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.310-316
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• 2009

Micro lens array(MLA) is widely used in information technology(IT) industry fields for various applications such as a projection display, an optical power regulator, a micro mass spectrometer and for medical appliances. Recently, MLA have been fabricated and developed by using a reflow method having the processes of micro etching, electroplating, micro machining and laser local heating. Laser thermal relaxation method is introduced in marking of microdots on the surface of densified glass. In this paper, we have proposed a new direct fabrication process using UV laser local thermal-expansion(UV-LLTE) and investigated the optimal processing conditions of MLA on the surface of negative photo-resist material. We have also studied the 3D shape of the micro lens obtained by UV laser irradiation and the optimal process conditions. And then, we made chrome mold by electroplating. After that, we made MLA using chrome mold by hot embossing processing. Finally, we have measured the opto-physical properties of micro lens and then have also tested the possibility of MLA applications.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.267-270
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• 2009

In the present investigation, we are newly developing a new forming process which can fabricate micro patterns on large-area polymeric substrates for high speed mass production. The key idea of the new process is to pressurize multiple vacuum-packed substrate-mold stacks above the glass transition temperature ($T_g$) of the polymeric substrates. The new process is thought to be promising micro-pattern fabrication technique in three aspects; firstly, isostatic pressing ensures the uniform micro-pattern replicating condition regardless of the substrate area. Secondly, the control of forming condition such as temperature and pressure can realize well-defined process condition exploited in the conventional hot embossing research field. Thirdly, multiple substrates can be patterned at the same time. A prototype forming machine for the new process was developed with the design consideration realizing the present idea. With a developed machine, micro prismatic array patterns with 50 um in size were successfully made on the $380{\times}300{\times}6\;mm$ PMMA plate.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.28 no.8 s.227
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• pp.1183-1189
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• 2004

A novel cell count method, which can improve the count efficiency and reduce contamination problem, was presented using micro lattice engraved on culture dish. The micro lattice has feature of $50{\mu}m{\times}50{\mu}m$ rectangular shape, $2{\mu}m$ line width, and $2{\mu}m$ depth in $3mm{\times}3mm$ area. In this paper, nickel mold was fabricated with thickness of 3mm and diameter of 80 mm, and transcription of the micro lattice on a polystyrene cell culture dish was performed by hot embossing at $200\;^{\circ}C$. The tedious and error-prone harvest/load processes of conventional cell counts with a hemocytometer could be omitted, and these advantages became magnified during periodical counts involving long-term cultures. SupT1 cells and HeLa cells were cultivated with the dish for 7 days in $CO_2$ incubator and counted as $371.84/mm^2$ and $123.36/mm^2$, respectively, during the cultivation without harmful effects on the cells.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.277-280
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• 2008

Recently, a demand of nano/micro patterned polymer for display or biochip has been rising. Then many studies have been carried out. Nano/micro-embossing is a deformation process where the workpiece materials is heated to permit easier material flow and then forced over a planar patterned tool. In this work, the hot-emboss process is performed with different forming conditions; forming temperature, load, press hold time, to get the proper condition for linear pattern fabrication on plated-type polymers (PC). Replicated pattern depth increases in proportion to the forming temperature, load and time. Reduction of the workpiece thickness increases according to press hold time. In process of time, reduction ratio of workpiece thickness decreases because of surface area increment of the workpiece and pressure decline on it.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.23 no.4 s.181
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• pp.162-167
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• 2006

Hot embossing lithography(HEL) has the production advantage of comparatively few process step, simple operation, a relatively low cost for embossing tools(Si), and high replication accuracy for small features. In this paper, we considered the nano-molding characteristic according to molding parameters(temperature, pressure, times, etc) and induced a optimal molding condition using HEL. High precision nano-patter master with various shapes were designed and manufactured using the DRIE(Deep Reactive ion Etching), LPCVD(Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition) and thermal oxidation process, and we investigated the molding characteristic of DVD and Blu-ray nickel stamp. We induced flow behaviors of polymer, rheology by shapes and sizes of the pattern through various molding experiments. Finally, with achieving nano-structure molding with high aspect ratio, we will secure a basic technology about the molding of large-area nano-pattern media.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2012.10a
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• pp.121-122
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• 2012

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2013.05a
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• pp.617-618
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• 2013

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.147-151
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• 2011

This paper demonstrates the development of a method for preparing micropatterned microdiscs in order to increase contact area with cells and to change the release pattern of drugs. The microdiscs were manufactured with hot embossing, where a polyurethane master structure was pressed onto both solid and porous microparticles made of polylactic-co-glycolic acid at various temperatures to form a micropattern on the microdiscs. Flat microdiscs were formed by hot embossing of porous microparticles; the porosity allowed space for flattening of the microdiscs. Three types of micro-grooves were patterned onto the flat microdiscs using prepared micropatterned molds: (1) 10 ${\mu}M$ deep, 5 ${\mu}M$ wide, and spaced 2 ${\mu}M$ apart; (2) 10 ${\mu}M$ deep, 9 ${\mu}M$ wide, and spaced 5 ${\mu}M$ apart; and (3) 10 ${\mu}M$ deep, 50 ${\mu}M$ wide, and spaced 50 ${\mu}M$ apart. This novel microdisc preparation method using hot embossing to create micropatterns on flattened porous microparticles provides the opportunity for low-cost, rapid manufacture of microdiscs that can be used to control cell adhesion and drug delivery rates.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.644-649
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• 2013

Today, there are lots of progresses in the field of lens researches, especially in the microlens fabrication. Unlike normal lenses, microlens has been widely used as a role of improving the performance of photonic devices which increase the optical precision, and also used in the fields of the display. In this paper, polymer microlenses with $300{\mu}m$ diameter were replicated through hot-embossing from nickel mold which was fabricated by micro-EDM. After hot-embossing process, the polymer microlenses have a rough surface due to the crater formed by micro-EDM process, which is projected onto the surface of the lenses. The surface of polymer microlenses was polished using solvent vapor to improve the surface roughness of the microlenses without changing their shape. In the experiment, the surface roughness was improved with the processing time and vapor temperature. Also, the roughness improvement was greatly affected by the solubility difference between polymer and solvent.