3D micromachining of photosensitive glass by femtosecond laser for microreactor manufacture

Three-dimensional (3D) micromachining of photosensitive glass is demonstrated by using femtosecond (fs) laser for Lab.-on-chip, in other words, micro total analysis system (μ-TAS), application. The fs laser direct-write process followed by a thermal treatment and successive chemical etching in a HF aqueous solution produces true 3D hollow microstructures embedded in the photosensitive glass. This technique is applied for manufacturing a microfluidic structure inside the glass. Mixing of two kinds of aqueous solutions is demonstrated in the fabricated structure. A freely movable microplate is also fabricated inside glass to control a stream of reagents in the microfluidics. In the meanwhile, this technique is applied for integrating microoptics like micromirror and micro beam splitter in the glass chip for optical analysis of reactants produced in the microfluidics.