All-round micro sheath flow formation to realize complex cross sections by simply stacked PDMs structures

Abstract

This research proposed a sheath flow formation method for complex 3D structure such as multi-core and multi-sheath using multi-stacked PDMS units. Cross sectional shape of the flow and the number of sheath layer were defined simply by combination of different PDMS units. The stacked PDMS units allowed independent fluid injection of different layers and the short sheath area realized low diffusion between each layer. Furthermore, the proposed 3D device fabrication method requires only one point alignment. The sheath flow formation method is useful for wide applications which require fiber materials of specific cross sectional shapes and layers.