Abstract
Nested structures inside the hard material play a pivotal role in the microfluidics systems, such as the microvalve and the micropump. In this article, we demonstrate a novel and facile method of fabricating nested structures inside the fused silica with a two-step process femtosecond laser wet etching (FLWE) process. Inside fused silica, a spherical structure was made with a diameter of nearly 80 µm in a square chamber. In addition, we designed a simple microvalve with this sphere controlling the current’s flow. The novel microvalve structure can be easily integrated into the functional microfluidics systems and will be widely applied in the Lab-on-chip (LOC) system.
Highlights
The three-dimensional (3D) spherical structure nested in the internal microcavity of fused silica has wide applications
By using the improved femtosecond laser wet etching (FLWE) method, this paper provides a new design and fabrication idea of the microvalve and produces a 3D microsphere structure in which the fused silica, which can move freely in the microcavity structure
The etching rate can be increased by using a higher concentration of hydrofluoric acid
Summary
The three-dimensional (3D) spherical structure nested in the internal microcavity of fused silica has wide applications. Many novel micro-nano devices have been fabricated with this structure [1,2,3]. The nested microsphere can be fabricated into a movable plug to realize a microsyringe, which can precisely control the amount of liquid injected. The 3D structure can be fabricated into microsensors, such as microgyroscopes and microaccelerometers, by some fabrication methods [4]. It can be well integrated into microfluidic systems to improve the miniaturization and integration performance of microfluidic chips and can be applied in the field of microsatellites or biochips
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