Abstract
Low-cost but precise fabrication technology for nano/micro devices is required in the field of lab-on-a-chip and Micro Total Analysis Systems (μTAS), etc. Micro molding using of silicone is a beneficial technique and widely applied to fabricate nano/micro device at low cost. However, the silicone has a drawback caused by thermal shrinkage by residual thermal stress during the curing process. To avoid the thermal shrinkage to realize more precise molding, we tried to use a photosensitive (photo-curable) silicone, which requires no heat to cure the material. In this study, it was evaluated the optimum curing condition, optical absorbance, tensile strength, and hardness as the basic properties of photosensitive silicone. The evaluated characteristics indicate that the photosensitive silicone has excellent optical and mechanical properties compared with conventional thermoset ones. Especially, the shrinkage rate of the photosensitive silicone was 0.02 %, whereas the conventional thermoset silicone was 2.9 %.
