Fine structuration of low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) microreactors. Issue 2 (25th November 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jiang, Bo; Haber, Julien; Renken, Albert; Muralt, Paul; Kiwi-Minsker, Lioubov; Maeder, Thomas
• Is Part Of: Lab on a chip. Volume 15:Issue 2(2015)
• Page Start: 563
• Page End: 574
• Publication Date: 2014-11-25
• Subjects: Miniature electronic equipment -- Periodicals; Combinatorial chemistry -- Periodicals; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; 543.0813
• DOI: 10.1039/c4lc01105h
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1473-0197

Abstract

Abstract : We developed a novel low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) microfabrication method for making microreactors with complex fluidic structures for applications involving harsh chemicals and envir`onmental processes. Abstract : The development of microreactors that operate under harsh conditions is always of great interest for many applications. Here we present a microfabrication process based on low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology for producing microreactors which are able to perform chemical processes at elevated temperature (>400 °C) and against concentrated harsh chemicals such as sodium hydroxide, sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid. Various micro-scale cavities and/or fluidic channels were successfully fabricated in these microreactors using a set of combined and optimized LTCC manufacturing processes. Among them, it has been found that laser micromachining and multi-step low-pressure lamination are particularly critical to the fabrication and quality of these microreactors. Demonstration of LTCC microreactors with various embedded fluidic structures is illustrated with a number of examples, including micro-mixers for studies of exothermic reactions, multiple-injection microreactors for ionone production, and high-temperature microreactors for portable hydrogen generation.