Three-Dimensional Large-Scale Fused Silica Microfluidic Chips Enabled by Hybrid Laser Microfabrication for Continuous-Flow UV Photochemical Synthesis

We demonstrate a hybrid laser microfabrication approach, which combines the technical merits of ultrafast laser-assisted chemical etching and carbon dioxide laser-induced in situ melting for centimeter-scale and bonding-free fabrication of 3D complex hollow microstructures in fused silica glass. With the developed approach, large-scale fused silica microfluidic chips with integrated 3D cascaded micromixing units can be reliably manufactured. High-performance on-chip mixing and continuous-flow photochemical synthesis under UV irradiation at similar to 280 nm were demonstrated using the manufactured chip, indicating a powerful capability for versatile fabrication of highly transparent all-glass microfluidic reactors for on-chip photochemical synthesis.

Automated summary

We have demonstrated a hybrid laser microfabrication approach that combines ultrafast laser-assisted chemical etching and carbon dioxide laser-induced in situ melting techniques to fabricate 3D complex hollow microstructures in fused silica glass. With this approach, large-scale fused silica microfluidic chips with integrated 3D cascaded micromixing units can be reliably manufactured. The manufactured chip showed high-performance on-chip mixing and continuous-flow photochemical synthesis, indicating its powerful capability for versatile fabrication of highly transparent all-glass microfluidic reactors for on-chip photochemical synthesis.