Thermal assisted ultrasonic bonding method for poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microfluidic devices

A thermal assisted ultrasonic bonding method for poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microfluidic devices has been presented. The substrates were preheated to 20–30 °C lower than glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymer. Then low amplitude ultrasonic vibration was employed to generate facial heat at the interface of PMMA substrates. PMMA microfluidic chips were successfully bonded with bulk temperature well below Tg of the material and with pressure two orders lower than conventional thermal bonding, which was of great benefit to reduce the deformation of microstructures. The bonding process was optimized by Taguchi method. This bonding technique showed numerous superiorities including high bonding strength (0.95 MPa), low dimension loss (0.3–0.8%) and short bonding time. Finally, a micromixer was successfully bonded by this method and its performance was demonstrated.