Diffusion of hydrosilanes from the control layer to the vinylsilane-rich flow membrane during the fabrication of microfluidic chips

During the fabrication of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based microfluidic chips, polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) species in the control layer diffuse into the flow membrane, which contains polymethylvinylsiloxane (PMVS), and the components cross-link together to form the mechanically enhanced membrane. The diffusion course was investigated by using attenuated total reflectance FTIR and the improvement of mechanical properties of the flow membrane was studied by measuring the Young's modulus and the tensile strength.