Abstract
We demonstrated rapid prototyping of templates for replica molding using a conventional laser printer. A polymer, polydimethylsiloxane, was cast directly on the transparency templates to make the replicas. The templates and replicas were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, profilometry, and optical microscopy. Four patterns, including an Electronic Industries Association resolution test pattern, were printed on transparencies at 600 dots per inch on a HP LaserJet 4M printer (Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, CA). Optimal precision and clarity occurred between intensity settings of 50–100. Mean pattern height/depth ranged from 8–13 μm, and width was as small as a few tenths of a millimeter. Mean surface roughness of the template patterns ranged from 1 to 4 μm on the top surface and from 5 to 10 nm on the bare transparency surface. This method provides access to microfabricated patterns for the broader research community without the need for sophisticated micromachining facilities.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
N. Chiem and D.J. Harrison, Anal. Chem. 69, 373 (1997).
G.N. Doku and S.J. Haswell, Anal. Chim. Acta 382, 1 (1999).
G.M. Greenway, S.J. Haswell, and P.H. Petsul, Anal. Chim. Acta 387, 1 (1999).
S.R. Liu, Y.N. Shi, W.W. Ja, and R.A. Mathies, Anal. Chem. 71, 566 (1999).
M.M. Peel and P. Dimilla, Annals of Biomed. Eng. 27, 236 (1999).
C.S. Chen, M. Mrksich, S. Huang, G.M. Whitesides, and D.E. Ingber, Science 276, 1425 (1997).
Y. Ito, Biomaterials 20, 2333 (1999).
A.M. Turner, N. Dowell, S.W. Turner, L. Kam, M. Isaacson, .N. Turner, .G. Craighead, and W. Shain, J. Biomed. Mater. Res. 51, 430 (2000).
H.C. Tai and H.M. Buettner, Biotechnol. Prog. 14, 364 (1998).
M. Madou and J. Florkey, Chem. Rev. 100, 2679 (2000).
T. Deng, H. Wu, S.T. Brittain, and G.M. Whitesides, Anal. Chem. 72, 3176 (2000).
B.Y. Tay and M.J. Edirisinghe, J. Mater. Res. 16, 373 (2001).
M. Mott, J.H. Song, and J.R.G. Evans, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 82, 1653 (1999).
J.D. Newman, A.P.F. Turner, and G. Marrazza, Anal. Chim. Acta 262, 13 (1992).
R. White, in How Computers Work, 6th ed. (Que Publishing, Indianapolis, IN, 2002), pp. 349–386.
http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/respat/EIA1956.pdf.
M.L. Branham, S.C. Glover, R.V. Benya, S.D. Allen, W. Shyy, and R. Tran-Son-Tay (2002, unpublished).
D. Qin, Y. Xia, and G.M. Whitesides, Adv. Mater. 8, 917 (1996).
A. Tan, K. Rodgers, J.P. Murrihy, C. O’Mathuna, and .D. Glennon, Lab on a Chip 7–9, (2001).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Branham, M.L., Tran-Son-Tay, R., Schoonover, C. et al. Rapid Prototyping of Micropatterned Substrates Using Conventional Laser Printers. Journal of Materials Research 17, 15 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2002.0231
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2002.0231