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SU8 etch mask for patterning PDMS and its application to flexible fluidic microactuators.


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Authors

Gorissen, Benjamin 
Van Hoof, Chris 
Reynaerts, Dominiek 

Abstract

Over the past few decades, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has become the material of choice for a variety of microsystem applications, including microfluidics, imprint lithography, and soft microrobotics. For most of these applications, PDMS is processed by replication molding; however, new applications would greatly benefit from the ability to pattern PDMS films using lithography and etching. Metal hardmasks, in conjunction with reactive ion etching (RIE), have been reported as a method for patterning PDMS; however, this approach suffers from a high surface roughness because of metal redeposition and limited etch thickness due to poor etch selectivity. We found that a combination of LOR and SU8 photoresists enables the patterning of thick PDMS layers by RIE without redeposition problems. We demonstrate the ability to etch 1.5-μm pillars in PDMS with a selectivity of 3.4. Furthermore, we use this process to lithographically process flexible fluidic microactuators without any manual transfer or cutting step. The actuator achieves a bidirectional rotation of 50° at a pressure of 200 kPa. This process provides a unique opportunity to scale down these actuators as well as other PDMS-based devices.

Description

Keywords

PDMS lithography, SU8, bending actuator, etch mask, fluidic actuator, microactuator

Journal Title

Microsyst Nanoeng

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2055-7434
2055-7434

Volume Title

2

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
European Research Council (337739)
BG is a Doctoral Fellow of the Research Foundation—Flanders (F.W.O.), Belgium. MDV acknowledges support from the ERC starting grant HIENA (no. 337739).