title: Polymer microfabrication technologies for microfluidic systems.
abstract: Polymers have assumed the leading role as substrate materials for microfluidic devices in recent years. They offer a broad range of material parameters as well as material and surface chemical properties which enable microscopic design features that cannot be realised by any other class of materials. A similar range of fabrication technologies exist to generate microfluidic devices from these materials. This review will introduce the currently relevant microfabrication technologies such as replication methods like hot embossing, injection molding, microthermoforming and casting as well as photodefining methods like lithography and laser ablation for microfluidic systems and discuss academic and industrial considerations for their use. A section on back-end processing completes the overview.
authors.affiliation: microfluidic ChipShop GmbH, Carl-Zeiss-Promenade 10, 07745, Jena, Germany. hb@microfluidic-chipshop.com
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gärtner
mesh_terms: D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000191:economics; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers