Surface polishing of quartz-based microfluidic channels using CO2 laser

Abstract

Recently, microgrinding using a polycrystalline diamond tool has been introduced to fabricate microchannels and structures from quartz (fused silica). Compared to wet or dry etching processes, the grinding process is very simple and time-efficient for prototyping. However, the roughness of the machined surface remains an issue, because the surface is covered with many small cracks. Poor surface roughness can affect fluid flow in the microfluidic channels. To reduce the surface roughness of microchannels generated by a grinding process, this study presents the laser polishing of quartz and investigates the effects of the translational speed and pitch of a laser spot on the surface roughness and shape accuracy of microchannels.