Abstract. Two-photon absorption (TPA) polymerization assisted ablation is a simple, fast and repeatable method for fabricating micro-fluidic channels. Since it is a maskless method, it is relatively inexpensive and faster than other conventional lithography techniques. Unlike direct ablation, TPA assisted ablation requires significantly less energy; as a result, it has greater control over the desired feature size and spatial resolution. In this work, we also show that ORMOCER has pronounced TPA assisted ablation threshold behavior, which is related to laser parameters such as spot radius, repetition rate and scan speed, in addition to the chemical properties of the photoresist. By manipulating these parameters, any two-dimensional-shaped micro-fluidic channels with desired channel width and depth can be fabricated.

Print publication: Issue 11 (November 2009)
Received 26 May 2009, in final form 14 August 2009
Published 9 October 2009