Micro-powder blasting using nano-particles dispersed polymer mask

Abstract

A new microfabrication technique to realize rapid prototyping of a glass was proposed. This technique consists of laser patterning of Au nano-particles dispersed polymer and micro-powder blasting. The patterned polymer was utilized as a mask material for the subsequent mechanical removal of the glass by the micro-powder blasting. Five different polymers were tested for the matrix material. Using a line and hole mask pattern, the fabricated channels in the glass with maximum aspect ration of 2.1 was realized and the prototype chip was produced. From this result, the validity of the micro-powder blasting using Au nano-particle dispersed polymer mask was confirmed. Moreover, we proposed the micro-powder blasting technique with elevated polymer mask temperature. Utilizing this method, improvement of the polymer mask erosion resistance was achieved.