Glass biochip fabrication by laser micromachining and glass-molding process

Due to their low cost, small size, and high-speed performance, biochips are often used in various bio-experiments. Compared with polymer-based biochips, glass-based substrates are less sensitive to heat and organic environments. This study presents a hybrid processing approach that uses laser micromachining (LMM) and precision glass molding (PGM) techniques to mass-produce glass-based biochips. A silicon carbide (SiC) mold with an outside diameter of 20 mm was used to hot emboss biochip channels measuring 200 μm wide and 185 μm deep. This study also identifies the optimal conditions for glass molding when processing soda-lime glass for biochip applications, and discusses the influence of the major processing parameters on biochip channel depth. This study uses the Taguchi method to assess the effects of several molding parameters on larger-the-better performance characteristics. The experiments in this study consider the effects of several molding parameters, such as molding temperature, pressing force, moving speed, temperature holding time, and vacuum environment, to achieve optimum characteristics for biochip channels. Orthogonal array analysis indicates that the optimal process parameters includes a 620 °C molding temperature, 1 kN pressing force, 5 mm/min moving speed, 60 s temperature holding time, and a vacuum-free environment. This study also investigates the surface roughness of glass biochip channels.