Abstract
Soft lithography and replica molding have been an integral part of polymer basic microfabrication for over 20 years. The use of silicone rubber materials as either molds or directly molded parts are well described in the literature and have provided researchers with an easily accessible technique to reproduce complex micro and nanostructures with minimal costs and technical challenges. Yet, for many applications, the use of standard silicones may not necessarily be the best choice, either as a mold material or as a replicated surface. For those instances where a mold is required that is high temperature tolerant, flexible, durable and capable of being used as a mold for multiple materials including silicone rubber, the most commonly used silicone rubber, Sylgard-184, has substantial deficiencies. In this work, we introduce a new material, Fluorosilicone that has not been described in the microfabrication field in detail and determine it is capable of reproducing micro structures via soft lithography techniques and being used as a mold for thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers, including silicone rubbers. Material compatibility, appropriate processing conditions for quality replicas and demonstration of extremely fast production of silicone microstructures are reported.
Highlights
In some applications of microfabrication, like microfluidic devices or gecko-like adhesives, fabrication of polymer-based samples via soft lithography including hot embossing, injection molding, or lamination, is widely applied [1,2,3,4]
When rigid molds are used, the mold material ought to have some specific properties [5]: (i) High stiffness and strength, (ii) good physical and chemical resistance, (iii) easy to be fabricated with different structures, and (iv) low surface energy for aid in demolding
Like SU-8 (MicroChem, Worcester, MA, USA) on Si wafers or Poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA, Plaskolite, Columbus, OH, USA) substrates, soft molds fabricated by Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) or other elastomers typically can have longer life cycles, because the thermal or demolding stress does not affect the mold but for rigid ones, structures may be damaged in curing or demolding [6]
Summary
In some applications of microfabrication, like microfluidic devices or gecko-like adhesives, fabrication of polymer-based samples via soft lithography including hot embossing, injection molding, or lamination, is widely applied [1,2,3,4]. They have the same hardness, and PDMS has larger tensile modulus, but the fluorosilicone has a much larger tear strength (about 23 times that of PDMS), and longer pot life at room temperature (96 h vs 1.6 h). The master mold materials tested for releasing negative fluorosilicone replicas include; PMMA, SU-8, silicon wafer (Silicon Materials, Glenshaw, PA, USA), glass, polylactic acid (PLA, Filaments.ca, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada), Kraton® G1657 styrene ethylene butylene styrene (SEBS, Kraton, Houston, TX, USA), shape memory polymer (SMP, MM-2520, SMP Technologies Inc, Tokyo, Japan), polystyrene (PS, Fisher Scientific, Hampton, NH, USA), PDMS (BJB Enterprise® TC-5030, BJB Enterprises, Tustin, CA, USA; and Dow Corning® Sylgard-184, Dow Corning). Micromachines 2018, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW pnreogdautafilncvutdeoiormdonseoimalilpcdoopl.dnlieeAcdaastswiaoaenldslsoe,ffmrtaolomSitnyhstlohgtgreaarratfdpliuo-ho1nyr8oo4msfiroleuilcdpsoelniifnceuaplnnoreoefgdsadsutricvyoteifaomflnduhoaoelpdsrp.oilvAisceiaslifitciaobonednsree,smaahosSanysasltbgrsaaeotreifdont-n1lci8uto4hfroeruedgspreliafincupalahnsoyefslismdttroloyefldasina minuatedhweistihvoeufitbveraschuausmbedenegcuarsesdinign afrsolmittlae aflsuaomroinsiultiecowniethnoeugt avtaicvueutmemdpeglaatsesi.nTghfirsomdraamfluaotricoasillliycorneeduces time annegdactiovme ptelmexpiltayteo.fTmhiasndurfaamctautricinalglyofresdiluicceosnetimruebabnedr mcoimcrpolsetxriutyctuofremdasnuurffaaccteusr.ing of silicone rubber microstructured surfaces
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