ppTMDS as a new polymer technology for a high throughput bio-MEMS design

摘要

The development of more complex biochips in terms of functionality requires some technological evolutions. A high frequency biological micro-electro-mechanical-system dedicated to biological analysis is a typical case of this requirement for providing compatibility between high frequency propagation and microfluidic circulation. Mixed fabrication technologies using silicon and polymers appear to be a good alternative. We have developed a promising deposition process of an organosilicon polymer by remote afterglow plasma technology, also called plasma polymerized tetramethyldisiloxane (ppTMDS). This technique allows us to obtain high deposition rate values in the range of 160 A{top}。 s{sup}(-1) and a thick layer up to 140 μm without any crack. Moreover, this process is compatible with high throughput microelectronic designs and it is done near room temperature. This last point is very interesting for further development of surface bio-functionalization, for example. We have characterized this siloxane polymer by physico-chemical analysis. The roughness has been optimized, thus allowing the realization of high frequency waveguides. The ppTMDS permittivity presents a low dispersive characteristic and constitutes one of the best low-loss polymers up to 1 THz.