Three-dimensional (3D) polymer structures are very attractive because the
extra structural dimension can provide denser integration and superior performance to
accomplish complex tasks. Successful fabrication of 3D multilayer microstructures in
thermoplastic polymers using optimized nanoimprint lithography techniques such as
layer-transfer and transfer-bonding methods are developed in this dissertation work.
The capability and flexibility of the techniques developed here are expected to have
deep impact on the applications of soft materials such as polymers including
functional polymers in micro- and nanofabricated devices and systems. Although NIL
technique is developing rapidly in recent years, there are still issues that need to be
addressed for broader adoption of the nanoimprint technique. One of the problems is
the residual layer that remains in the polymer pattern after nanoimprint. The
conventional approach, oxygen reactive-ion-etching (RIE) process, to remove the
residual layers, increases the cost and lowers the overall throughput of the nanoimprint process. More severely, it can degrade or even damage the functional polymers. In
order to overcome these problems, new residual layer removal techniques need to be
developed. In this dissertation, two methods are newly developed, which do not
negatively affect the chemistry of the polymer materials. The techniques are suitable
for all thermoplastic polymers, particularly functional polymers.
Another advantage of nanoimprint is its ability to directly create functional
polymers structures. This is because thermal nanoimprint only needs temperature and
pressure for pattern replication, which both are benign to functional polymers. This
feature combined with newly developed techniques such as transfer-bonding and
residue removal techniques opens up the possibilities in nondestructive functional
polymers patterning at the micro- and nanoscale for novel applications in electronics,
optoelectronics, photonics and bioengineering.
Finally, several applications of 3D multilayer structures fabricated by the
techniques developed in this dissertation are demonstrated. The first application is a
multilayer metal-dielectric-metal structure with embedded microfluidic channels. This
structure can be used as an on-chip tunable filter for integrated microfluidic
applications. The second application is a multilayer microfluidic channels in which
each layer has a different channel size. This device can be used for particle separation
and filtration based on lateral fluid flow.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2009-05-466 |
| Date | 2009 May 1900 |
| Creators | Park, Hyunsoo |
| Contributors | Cheng, Xing |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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