• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.305-313
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• 2004

A vacuum pressure-difference technique for making a nano-precision replica is investigated for various applications. Master patterns for replication were fabricated using a nano-replication printing (nRP) process. In the nRP process, any picture and pattern can be replicated from a bitmap figure file in the range of several micrometers with resolution of 200nm. A liquid-state monomer is solidified by two-photon absorption (TPA) induced by a femto-second laser according to a voxel matrix scanning. After polymerization, the remaining monomers were removed simply by using ethanol droplets. And then, a gold metal layer of about 30nm thickness was deposited on the fabricated master patterns prior to polydimethylsiloxane molding for preventing bonding between the master and the polydimethylsiloxane mold. A few gold particles attached on the polydimethylsiloxane stamp during detaching process were removed by a gold selecting etchant. After fabricating the polydimethylsiloxane mold, a nano-precision polydimethylsiloxane replica was reproduced. More precise replica was produced by the vacuum pressure-difference technique that is proposed in this paper. Through this study, direct patterning on a glass plate, replicating a polydimethylsiloxane mold, and reproducing polydimethylsiloxane replica are demonstrated with a vacuum pressure-difference technique for various micro/nano-applications.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.38-42
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• 2015

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a widely used material for replicating micro-structures because of its transparency, deformability, and easy fabrication. At the nanoscale, however, it is hard to fill a nanohole template with uncured PDMS. This paper introduces several simple methods by changing the surface energy of a nanohole template and PDMS elastomer for replicating 100nm-scale structures. In the case of template, pristine anodic aluminum oxide (AAO), hydrophobically treated AAO, and hydrophillically treated AAO are used. For the surface energy change of the PDMS elastomer, a hydrophilic additive and dilution solvent are added in the PDMS prepolymer. During the molding process, a simple casting method is used for all combinations of the treated template and modified PDMS. The nanostructured PDMS surface was investigated with a scanning electron microscope after the molding process for verification.

• Journal of Information Display
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.68-71
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• 2009

A replica-molding method of fabricating a dual-gap substrate for transflective liquid crystal (LC) displays is demonstrated. The dual-gap substrate provides homeotropic alignment for the LC molecules without any surface treatment and embedded bilevel microstructure on one of the two surfaces to maintain different cell gaps between the transmissive and reflective subpixels. The proposed transflective LC cell shows no electro-optic disparity between two subpixels and reduces the panel thickness and weight by 30% compared to the conventional transflective LC cell, which has two glass substrates.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.561-565
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• 2007

We propose glass and PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) chips for DNA amplification with continuous-flow PCR (polymerase chain reaction). The PDMS microchannel was fabricated using a negative molding method for sample injection. Three heaters and sensors of ITO (indium-tin-oxide) thin films were fabricated on glass chip. ITO heaters and sensors were calibrated accurately for the temperature control of the liquid flow. ITO heater generated stable heat versus applied power. ITO sensor resistance was changed linearly versus temperature increase as a RTD (resistance temperature detector) sensor. As a result, we enable precision temperature control of continuous-flow PCR chip. Using the continuous-flow PCR chip DNA plasmid pKS-GFP 720 bp was successfully amplified.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.38 no.8
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• pp.823-829
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• 2014

In the present study, simple models were proposed to predict the capillary-driven flow length in a surfactant-added poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) rectangular microchannel. Owing to the hydrophobic nature of PDMS, it is difficult to transport water in a conventional PDMS microchannel by means of the capillary force alone. To overcome this problem, microchannels with a hydrophilic surface were fabricated using surfactant-added PDMS. By measuring the contact angle change on the surfactant-added PDMS surface, the behavior was investigated to establish a simple model. In order to predict the filling length induced by the capillary force, the Washburn equation was modified in the present study. From the investigation, it was found that the initial rate-of-change of the contact angle affected the filling length. Simple models were developed for three representative cases, and these can be useful tools in designing microfluidic manufacturing techniques including MIcroMolding In Capillaries (MIMIC).

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.274.2-274.2
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• 2013

We described a simple and efficient fabrication method for generating microfluidic channels with a circular-cross sectional geometry by exploiting the reflow phenomenon of a thick positive photoresist. Initial rectangular shaped positive photoresist micropatterns on a silicon wafer, which were fabricated by a conventional photolithography process, were converted into a half-circular shape by tuning the temperature to around $105^{\circ}C$. Through optimization of the reflow conditions, we could obtain a perfect circular micropattern of the positive photoresist, and control the diameter in a range from 100 to 400 ${\mu}m$. The resultant convex half-circular photoresist was used as a template for fabricating a concave polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) through a replica molding process, and a circular PDMS microchannel was produced by bonding two half-circular PDMS layers. A variety of channel dimensions and patterns can be easily prepared, including straight, S-curve, X-, Y-, and T-shapes to mimic an in vivo vascular network. To inform an endothelial cell layer, we cultured primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) inside circular PDMS microchannels, and demonstrated successful cell adhesion, proliferation, and alignment along the channel.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.192-196
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• 2009

Recently, the multi-screening of target materials has been made possible by the development of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging method. To adapt this method to biochemical analysis, the multi-patterning technology of protein microarrays is required. Among the different methods of fabricating protein microarrays, the microfluidic platform was selected due to its various advantages over other techniques. Microfluidic devices were designed and fabricated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by the replica molding method. These devices were designed to operate using only capillary force, without the need for additional flow control equipment. With these devices, multiple protein-patterned sensor surfaces were made, to support the two-dimensional detection of various protein-protein interactions with SPR. The fabrication technique of protein microarrays can be applied not only to SPR imaging, but also to other biochemical analyses.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.649-654
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• 2005

This paper presents fabrication and drive test of a peristaltic PDMS micropump actuated by the thermopneumatic force. The micropump consists of the three peristaltic-type actuator chambers with microheaters on the glass substrate and a microchannel connecting the chambers and the inlet/outlet port. The micropump is fabricated by the spin-coating process, the two-step curing process, the JSR (negative PR) molding process, and etc. The diameter and the thickness of the actuator diaphragm are 2.5 mm and $30{\mu}m$, respectively. The meniscus motion in the capillary tube is observed with a video camera and the flow rate of the micro pump is calculated through the frame analysis of the recorded video data. The maximum flow rate of the micropump is about $0.36\;{\mu}L/sec$ at 2 Hz for the zero hydraulic pressure difference when the 3-phase input voltage is 20 V.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.375-379
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• 2008

This paper reports a new fabrication method of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microlenses with various curvatures by using a water-based mold. The hydrophobic surface of Polypropylene (PP) substrate was modified by corona discharge using tesla coil to have hydrophilic surface. Then hydrophilic surface of PP substrate takes hydrophobic recovery to have various contact angles from less than $25^{\circ}$ to about $84^{\circ}$. By using the water droplets with various contact angles as replica molds for PDMS process, we could obtain PDMS microlenses with various curvatures.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.348-356
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• 2007

The aim of this study was to fabricate a submicro-and micro-patterned fibronectin coated wafer for a cell culture, which allows the positions and dimensions of the attached cells to be controlled. A replica molding was made into silicon via a photomask in quartz, using E-beam lithography, and then fabricated a polydimethylsiloxane stamp using the designed silicon mold. Hexadecanethiol $[HS(CH_2){_{15}}CH_3]$, adsorbed on the raised plateau of the surface of polydimethylsiloxane stamp, was contact-printed to form self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of hexadecanethiolate on the surface of an Au-coated glass wafer. In order to form another SAM for control of the surface wafer properties, a hydrophilic hexa (ethylene glycol) terminated alkanethiol $[HS(CH_2){_{11}}(OCH_2CH_2){_6}OH]$ was also synthesized. The structural changes were confirmed using UV and $^1H-NMR$ spectroscopies. A SAM terminated in the hexa(ethylene glycol) groups was subsequently formed on the bare gold remaining on the surface of the Aucoated glass wafer. In order to aid the attachment of cells, fibronectin was adsorbed onto the resulting wafer, with the pattern formed on the gold-coated wafer confirmed using immunofluorescence staining against fibronectin. Fibronectin was adsorbed only onto the SAMs terminated in the methyl groups of the substrate. The hexa (ethylene glycol)-terminated regions resisted the adsorption of protein. Human dermal fibroblasts (P=4), obtained from newborn foreskin, only attached to the fibronectin-coated, methyl-terminated hydrophobic regions of the patterned SAMs. N-HDFs were more actively adhered, and spread in a pattern spacing below $14{\mu}m$, rather than above $17{\mu}m$, could easily migrate on the substrate containing spacing of $10{\mu}m$ or less between the strip lines.