DEVELOPMENT OF A MICROFLUIDIC GAS GENERATOR FROM AN EFFICIENT FILM-BASED MICROFABRICATION METHOD

Abstract

Recently, tape&film based microfabrication method has been studied for rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices due to its low cost and ease of fabrication [1]. But most of the reported film-based microfluidic devices are simple single-layer patterned 2D designs, whose potential applications are limited. In this paper, we present the design, fabrication and testing results of a 3D structured microfluidic gas generator prototype. This gas generator is used as an example to introduce our new approach of film-based fabrication method towards lab-use microfluidic research, which usually requires constant change of design and prefers low fabrication cost and short fabrication period. The prototype is a film-based comprehensive microfluidic gas generator which integrates self-circulation, self-regulation, catalytic reaction and gas/liquid separation. Time and economy efficiency are the biggest merit of this method. The only required facility during the whole process is a digital craft-cutter. The working principle of the device is illustrated in Fig.1.