This disclosure describes techniques for fabricating a high-resolution, non-cytotoxic and transparent microfluidic device. A material can be selected based on having an optical property with a predetermined degree of transparency to provide viewability of a biological sample through the microfluidic device and a level of cytotoxicity within a predetermined threshold to provide viability of the biological sample within the microfluidic device. An additive manufacturing technique can be selected from a plurality of additive manufacturing techniques for fabricating the microfluidic device based on the selected material to provide a resolution of dimensions of one or more channels of the microfluidic device higher than a predetermined resolution threshold.

A method for the production of microfluidic cells using a disc-shaped glass element is provided. The disc-shaped glass element has a thickness of at most 700 micrometers is structured in such a way that it has at least one opening. The opening connects the two opposite-lying, parallel side faces of the glass element. The side faces are attached to a glass part so that the opening is sealed by the two glass parts to form a microfluidic cell having a cavity enclosed therein. The cavity is suitable for the conveyance of fluids. The attachment of the glass element to at least one of the two glass parts is produced by an adhesive that is applied onto the side face of the glass element. During application of the adhesive, the at least one opening in the glass element is left free of adhesive.

A method for producing a cavity in a substrate composed of hard brittle material is provided. A laser beam of an ultrashort pulse laser is directed a side surface of the substrate and is concentrated by a focusing optical unit to form an elongated focus in the substrate. Incident energy of the laser beam produces a filament-shaped flaw in a volume of the substrate. The filament-shaped flaw extends into the volume to a predetermined depth and does not pass through the substrate. To produce the filament-shaped flaw, the ultrashort pulse laser radiates in a pulse or a pulse packet having at least two successive laser pulses. After at least two filament-shaped flaws are introduced, the substrate is exposed to an etching medium which removes material of the substrate and widens the at least two filament-shaped flaws to form filaments. At least two filaments are connected to form a cavity.

A method of etching features in a silicon wafer includes coating a top surface and a bottom surface of the silicon wafer with a mask layer having a lower etch rate than an etch rate of the silicon wafer, removing one or more portions of the mask layer to form a mask pattern in the mask layer on the top surface and the bottom surface of the silicon wafer, etching one or more top surface features into the top surface of the silicon wafer through the mask pattern to a depth plane located between the top surface and the bottom surface of the silicon wafer at a depth from the top surface, coating the top surface and the one or more top surface features with a metallic coating, and etching one or more bottom surface features into the bottom surface of the silicon wafer through the mask pattern to the target depth plane.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an at least partly hollow MEMS structure. In a first step one or more through-going openings is/are provided in core material. The one or more through-going openings is/are then covered by an etch-stop layer. After this step, a bottom electrically conducting layer, one or more electrically conducting vias and a top electrically conducting layer are created. The bottom layer is connected to the vias and vias are connected to the top layer. The vias are formed by filling at least one of the one or more through-going openings. The method further comprises the step of creating bottom and top conductors in the respective bottom and top layers. Finally, excess core material is removed in order to create the at least partly hollow MEMS structure which may include a MEMS inductor.

A method of etching features in a silicon wafer includes coating a top surface and a bottom surface of the silicon wafer with a mask layer having a lower etch rate than an etch rate of the silicon wafer, removing one or more portions of the mask layer to form a mask pattern in the mask layer on the top surface and the bottom surface of the silicon wafer, etching one or more top surface features into the top surface of the silicon wafer through the mask pattern to a depth plane located between the top surface and the bottom surface of the silicon wafer at a depth from the top surface, coating the top surface and the one or more top surface features with a metallic coating, and etching one or more bottom surface features into the bottom surface of the silicon wafer through the mask pattern to the target depth plane.

The invention is about an ultrasonic welding-based microfluidic device. It is mainly made of a first element and a second element welded one to the other via at least one structure (10, 10). The structure (10, 10) comprises an elongated welded portion for said welding, a welding channel (12, 12) extending between the first and second elements and along one side of the welded portion, and a draining channel (13) communicating with the welding channel (12, 12) and the microfluidic path (20, 20) of the device. The invention is further about a method of manufacturing such a device.

A method of etching features in a silicon wafer includes coating a top surface and a bottom surface of the silicon wafer with a mask layer having a lower etch rate than an etch rate of the silicon wafer, removing one or more portions of the mask layer to form a mask pattern in the mask layer on the top surface and the bottom surface of the silicon wafer, etching one or more top surface features into the top surface of the silicon wafer through the mask pattern to a depth plane located between the top surface and the bottom surface of the silicon wafer at a depth from the top surface, coating the top surface and the one or more top surface features with a metallic coating, and etching one or more bottom surface features into the bottom surface of the silicon wafer through the mask pattern to the target depth plane.

A microfluidic device (100) comprising: a substrate (110) having a liquid channel (120), an ordered set of pillars (130) positioned in the channel (120), the individual pillars (130) comprising at least one pair of fins that form a chevron-shaped cross-section with the substrate, and being arranged in pairs of rows, adjacent rows being laterally displaced with respect to one another by half a pillar in length, the pillar length being measured perpendicular to the average liquid direction, thereby forming microchannels between the pillars, and the rows being staggered so that the microchannels formed between pillars of successive rows at each position along the longest pillar side have substantially the same width.

A system is provided for generating a microfluidic channel. The system may include a co-flow generator having a delivery tube configured to provide a support liquid. The co-flow generator may include a coupling having an outlet configured to provide an epoxy resin. The delivery tube may be centrally positioned in the outlet of the coupling such that the delivery tube and the outlet together eject a co-flow of epoxy and support liquid into a tubular shell. The system may further include a conductive ring defining a hole through which the tubular shell extends. Heating the conductive ring causes or hastens curing of the epoxy resin to form a micro-channel defined by the cured epoxy around the support liquid.