Integrating photonic and microfluidic structures on a device fabricated using proton beam writing

摘要

Proton beam writing is a lithographic technique that can be used to fabricate microstructures in a variety of materials including PMMA, SU-8 and Foturan™. The technique utilizes a highly focused mega-electron volt beam of protons to direct write latent images into a material which are subsequently developed to form structures. Furthermore, the energetic protons can also be used to modify the refractive index of the material at a precise depth by using the end of range damage. In this paper we apply the proton beam writing technique to the fabrication of a lab-on-a-chip device that integrates buried waveguides with microfluidic channels. We have chosen to use Foturan™ photostructurable glass for the device because both direct patterning and refractive index modification is possible with MeV protons.