Abstract
Glass is an ideal material for microfluidic chips because of its pressure resistance, chemical stability, optical transparency, and thermal stability. Two-layer or three-layer microfluidic glass chips, composed of one or two cover layers and one structural layer, have been widely applied to two-dimensional microfluidic systems. Due to the fabrication difficulties in aligning and bonding multiple glass layers, multi-layer glass chips (more than three layers) are underutilized, although they are essential to deliver more complicated microfluidic functionalities and achieve more accurate microfluidic manipulations. This work proposes a fabrication process based on rapid laser cutting of single glass layers and one-time thermocompression bonding of multi-layer chips and demonstrated it with a five-layer microfluidic chip for three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic focusing. The pressure and temperature are the key parameters for multi-layer bonding, which are experimentally determined to be 0.4 MPa and 605 ℃. Five-layer glass microfluidic chips could be fabricated within 6 h with a bonding strength of 0.6 MPa. This simple, easy-to-operate fabrication method for the rapid production of multi-layer glass microfluidic chips will be conducive to the wide application of multi-layer microfluidic glass chips.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adam RC, David M, Camilo P, Gerard MOC (2015) Thin glass processing with various laser sources. Proc SPIE. Doi 10(1117/12):2077217
Akiyama Y, Morishima K, Kogi A, Kikutani Y, Tokeshi M, Kitamori T (2007) Rapid bonding of Pyrex glass microchips. Electrophoresis 28(6):994–1001. https://doi.org/10.1002/elps.200600437
Berthold A, Nicola L, Sarro PM, Vellekoop MJ (2000) Glass-to-glass anodic bonding with standard IC technology thin films as intermediate layers. Sens Actuators A 82(1):224–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-4247(99)00376-3
Chen X, Shen J, Zhou M (2016) Rapid fabrication of a four-layer PMMA-based microfluidic chip using CO2-laser micromachining and thermal bonding. J Micromech Microeng 26(10):107001. https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/26/10/107001
Chen P, Li S, Guo Y, Zeng X, Liu B-F (2020) A review on microfluidics manipulation of the extracellular chemical microenvironment and its emerging application to cell analysis. Anal Chim Acta 1125:94–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2020.05.065
Daridon A, Fascio V, Lichtenberg J, Wütrich R, Langen H, Verpoorte E, de Rooij NF (2001) Multi-layer microfluidic glass chips for microanalytical applications. Fresenius J Anal Chem 371(2):261–269. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002160101004
Datta A, Gangopadhyay S, Temkin H, Pu Q, Liu S (2006) Nanofluidic channels by anodic bonding of amorphous silicon to glass to study ion-accumulation and ion-depletion effect. Talanta 68(3):659–665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2005.05.011
Du L, Allen MG (2018) Silica hermetic packages based on laser patterning and localized fusion bonding. 2018 IEEE Micro Electro Mech Syst. https://doi.org/10.1109/MEMSYS.2018.8346612
Du L, Allen MG (2019) CMOS compatible hermetic packages based on localized fusion bonding of fused silica. J Microelectromech Syst 28(4):656–665. https://doi.org/10.1109/JMEMS.2019.2913533
Gečys P, Dudutis J, RaČIukaitis G (2015) Nanosecond laser processing of soda-lime glass. J Laser Micro Nanoeng. https://doi.org/10.2961/jlmn.2015.03.0003
Glavan AC, Martinez RV, Maxwell EJ, Subramaniam AB, Nunes RMD, Soh S, Whitesides GM (2013) Rapid fabrication of pressure-driven open-channel microfluidic devices in omniphobic RF paper. Lab Chip 13(15):2922–2930. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3lc50371b
Huang Y, Liu S, Yang W, Yu C (2010) Surface roughness analysis and improvement of PMMA-based microfluidic chip chambers by CO2 laser cutting. Appl Surf Sci 256(6):1675–1678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2009.09.092
Hwang J, Cho YH, Park MS, Kim BH (2019) Microchannel fabrication on glass materials for microfluidic devices. Int J Precis Eng Manuf 20(3):479–495. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-019-00103-2
Iles A, Oki A, Pamme N (2007) Bonding of soda-lime glass microchips at low temperature. Microfluid Nanofluid 3(1):119–122. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-006-0101-z
Iliescu C, Chen B, Miao J (2008) On the wet etching of Pyrex glass. Sens Actuators A 143(1):154–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2007.11.022
Iliescu C, Poenar DP, Carp M, Loe FC (2007) A microfluidic device for impedance spectroscopy analysis of biological samples. Sens Actuators B Chem 123(1):168–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2006.08.009
Iliescu C, Jing J, Tay FEH, Miao J, Sun T (2005) Characterization of masking layers for deep wet etching of glass in an improved HF/HCl solution. Surf Coat Technol 198(1):314–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2004.10.094
Iliescu C, Taylor H, Avram M, Miao J, Franssila S (2012) A practical guide for the fabrication of microfluidic devices using glass and silicon. Biomicrofluidics 6(1):16505–1650516. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3689939
Jang K-J, Suh K-Y (2010) A multi-layer microfluidic device for efficient culture and analysis of renal tubular cells. Lab Chip 10(1):36–42. https://doi.org/10.1039/B907515A
Jia ZJ, Fang Q, Fang ZL (2004) Bonding of glass microfluidic chips at room temperatures. Anal Chem 76(18):5597–5602. https://doi.org/10.1021/ac0494477
Jiao Z, Zhao J, Chao Z, You Z, Zhao J (2019) An air-chamber-based microfluidic stabilizer for attenuating syringe-pump-induced fluctuations. Microfluid Nanofluid 23(2):26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-019-2193-2
Jin Y, Wang Y, Zhang X, Wang B (2020) Micro-milling of fused silica based on instantaneous chip thickness. J Mater Process Technol 285:116786. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2020.116786
Kalkowski G, Risse S, Zeitner U, Fuchs F, Eberhardt R, Tunnermann A (2014) (Invited) Glass-glass direct bonding. ECS Trans 64(5):3–11. https://doi.org/10.1149/06405.0003ecst
Kim S, Kim J, Joung YH, Ahn S, Koo C (2019) "Optimization of selective laser-induced etching (SLE) for fabrication of 3D glass microfluidic device with multi-layer micro channels. Micro Nano Syst Lett. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40486-019-0094-5
Kitamura R, Pilon L, Jonasz M (2007) Optical constants of silica glass from extreme ultraviolet to far infrared at near room temperature. Appl Opt 46(33):8118–8133. https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.46.008118
Lee C-Y, Chang C-L, Wang Y-N, Fu L-M (2011) Microfluidic mixing: a review. Int J Mol Sci. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms12053263
Li JM, Liu C, Liu JS, Xu Z, Wang LD (2009) Multi-layer PMMA microfluidic chips with channel networks for liquid sample operation. J Mater Process Technol 209(15):5487–5493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2009.05.003
Liu P, Lv Z, Sun B, Gao Y, Qi W, Xu Y, Chen L, Wang L, Ge C, Li S (2021) A universal bonding method for preparation of microfluidic biosensor. Microfluid Nanofluid 25(5):43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-021-02445-8
Mazutis L, Gilbert J, Ung WL, Weitz DA, Griffiths AD, Heyman JA (2013) Single-cell analysis and sorting using droplet-based microfluidics. Nat Protoc 8(5):870–891. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2013.046
Moraes C, Sun Y, Simmons CA (2009) Solving the shrinkage-induced PDMS alignment registration issue in multilayer soft lithography. J Micromech Microeng 19(6):065015. https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/19/6/065015
Mrozek P (2009) Anodic bonding of glasses with interlayers for fully transparent device applications. Sens Actuators A 151(1):77–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2009.01.018
Mrozek P (2012) Glass-to-glass anodic bonding using TiNx interlayers for fully transparent device applications. Sens Actuators A 174:139–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2011.12.012
Pan YJ, Yang RJ (2006) A glass microfluidic chip adhesive bonding method at room temperature. J Micromech Microeng 16(12):2666–2672. https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/16/12/020
Park JH, Lee NE, Lee J, Park JS, Park HD (2005) Deep dry etching of borosilicate glass using SF6 and SF6/Ar inductively coupled plasmas. Microelectron Eng 82(2):119–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mee.2005.07.006
Patel JN, Kaminska B, Gray BL, Gates BD (2008) PDMS as a sacrificial substrate for SU-8-based biomedical and microfluidic applications. J Micromech Microeng 18(9):095028. https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/18/9/095028
Sano H, Kazoe Y, Morikawa K, Kitamori T (2020) Implementation of a nanochannel open/close valve into a glass nanofluidic device. Microfluid Nanofluid 24(10):78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-020-02383-x
Su T, Cheng K, Sun Y (2019) Fast packaging of glass-based microfluidic chip using adhesive polyurethane material. Microsyst Technol 25(11):4399–4403. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-019-04516-x
Sundararajan N, Pio MS, Lee LP, Berlin AA (2004) Three-dimensional hydrodynamic focusing in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels. J Microelectromech Syst 13(4):559–567. https://doi.org/10.1109/JMEMS.2004.832196
Sung-Il K, Jeongtae K, Chiwan K, Yeun-Ho J, Jiyeon C (2018) Rapid prototyping of 2D glass microfluidic devices based on femtosecond laser assisted selective etching process. SPIE, Proc. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2291160
Webb AP, Houghton AJ, Townsend PD (1976) Changes in the chemical stability of ion-implanted silica glass. Radiat Eff 30(3):177–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/00337577608233060
Wu C-Y, Liao W-H, Tung Y-C (2011) Integrated ionic liquid-based electrofluidic circuits for pressure sensing within polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic systems. Lab Chip 11(10):1740–1746. https://doi.org/10.1039/C0LC00620C
Wu Y, Qian X, Zhang M, Dong Y, Sun S, Wang X (2018) Mode transition of droplet formation in a semi-3D flow-focusing microfluidic droplet system. Micromachines. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9040139
Xiong S, Chen X (2021a) Numerical simulation of three-dimensional passive micromixer with variable-angle grooves and baffles. Surf Rev Lett 28(05):2150037. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218625X21500372
Xiong S, Chen X (2021b) Numerical study of a three-dimensional electroosmotic micromixer with Koch fractal curve structure. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 96(7):1909–1917. https://doi.org/10.1002/jctb.6711
Xiong S, Chen X, Chen H, Chen Y, Zhang W (2021) Numerical study on an electroosmotic micromixer with rhombic structure. J Dispersion Sci Technol 42(9):1331–1337. https://doi.org/10.1080/01932691.2020.1748644
Xu Y, Wang C, Li L, Matsumoto N, Jang K, Dong Y, Mawatari K, Suga T, Kitamori T (2013) Bonding of glass nanofluidic chips at room temperature by a one-step surface activation using an O2/CF4 plasma treatment. Lab Chip 13(6):1048–1052. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3lc41345d
Yang J, Tu R, Yuan H, Wang Q, Zhu L (2021) Recent advances in droplet microfluidics for enzyme and cell factory engineering. Crit Rev Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1080/07388551.2021.1898326
Zhao J, You Z (2015) Microfluidic hydrodynamic focusing for high-throughput applications. J Micromech Microeng 25(12):125006. https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/25/12/125006
Zhao J, You Z (2016) A microflow cytometer with a rectangular quasi-flat-top laser spot. Sensors (basel, Switzerland) 16(9):1474. https://doi.org/10.3390/s16091474
Zhao J, You Z (2018) Spark-generated microbubble cell sorter for microfluidic flow cytometry. Cytometry A 93(2):222–231. https://doi.org/10.1002/cyto.a.23296
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the fund for the Joint Project of Beijing (Beijing Municipal Commission of Education) and the National Natural Science of China (Grant Number: 61727813). The authors acknowledge Dr. XingZhe Yu from the School of Aerospace Engineering, Tsinghua University for his help in the bonding strength experiments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Han, Y., Jiao, Z., Zhao, J. et al. A simple approach to fabricate multi-layer glass microfluidic chips based on laser processing and thermocompression bonding. Microfluid Nanofluid 25, 77 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-021-02479-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-021-02479-y