Liquid Glass: A Facile Soft Replication Method for Structuring Glass

Frederik Kotz; Klaus Plewa; Werner Bauer; Norbert Schneider; Nico Keller; Tobias Nargang; Dorothea Helmer; Kai Sachsenheimer; Michael Schäfer; Matthias Worgull; Christian Greiner; Christiane Richter; Bastian E Rapp

doi:10.1002/adma.201506089

Liquid Glass: A Facile Soft Replication Method for Structuring Glass

Adv Mater. 2016 Jun;28(23):4646-50. doi: 10.1002/adma.201506089. Epub 2016 Apr 9.

Affiliations

¹ Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, 76344, Germany.
² Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute for Applied Materials (IAM), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, 76344, Germany.

PMID: 27060964
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201506089

Abstract

Liquid glass is a photocurable amorphous silica nanocomposite that can be structured using soft replication molds and turned into glass via thermal debinding and sintering. Simple polymer bonding techniques allow the fabrication of complex microsystems in glass like microfluidic chips. Liquid glass is a step toward prototyping of glass microstructures at low cost without requiring cleanroom facilities or hazardous chemicals.

Keywords: glass microfluidics; microfabrication; rapid prototyping; silica nanocomposites; soft replication.