Nanoembossing of thermoplastic polymers for microfluidic applications

We present a method for the fabrication of plastic microfluidic devices based on nanoembossing and thermal bonding. By nanoembossing of thermoplastic polymer pellets, both microfluidic deep channels and high resolution features can be formed using a silicon mold fabricated by electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching. By thermal bonding with another plastic sheet, the fabricated microfluidic devices can be sealed without clogging. Observation of pressure driven and electrokinetic flows through high density pillar arrays indicates the feasibility of nanofluidic analysis using plastic devices. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.