Double-sided structures now available from CDA

30 Sep 2014

CDA is a recognized specialist for the manufacture of complex, microfunctional but nonetheless cost-effective microstructures in plastic, for example, for optical and microfluidic applications. By utilizing optimized wafer-level production and appropriate molds, CDA can now flexibly and accurately manufacture double-sided structures.

CDA provides its customers with a comprehensive high-end microtechnology portfolio for the development and manufacture of complex microfunctional devices. The key to CDA’s approach lies in the utilization of optimized manufacturing processes for various plastics (polycarbonate, PMMA and cyclo-olefin-copolymers) and the integration of all required elements into a single compact device. CDA has now extended their integration capability through the flexible design and manufacture of double-sided structures in plastic. Such structures can comprise any combination of functionality from CDA’s two principal micro-technology platforms, including:

• refractive microoptical elements and arrays, diffractive structures (DOEs) and optical diffusors for optics, and
• microfluidic structures and surface structuring for analytical lab-on-a-chip applications.

The upper and lower molds of the structure are manufactured separately, and are then positioned to tolerances of +/-5µm or less for the molding process. The resulting double-sided structure exhibits exactly this positional accuracy between its two surfaces.

Furthermore, multiple double-sided structures with differing functionalities can be layered (stacked) to the same positional accuracy and subsequently permanently bonded using proprietary technology. The bonding process ensures full compatibility with adverse environments, and in particular with sensitive biological systems.

Lastly, as compatibility with CDA’s integration technology is maintained, the new double-sided structures and multiple structure stacks allow an even greater integration of multiple elements into a single compact device. New opportunities are thus revealed for solutions in structured illumination, in optics, in microscopy, in miniaturized analytical instrumentation, and for any combination of these fields. Potential applications areas include optoelectronics, clinical point-of-care and other diagnostics tasks, environmental monitoring and biochemical/forensic screening applications.