Fast and safe microwave-assisted glass channel-shaped microstructure fabrication.

Glass micromachining is a basic technology to achieve microfluidic networks for lab-on-a-chip applications. Among several methods to microstructure glass, the simplest and most widely applied is wet chemical etching (WE). However, accurate control of the reaction conditions to perform reproducible, fast and safe glass etching is not straightforward. Herein, microwave-assisted WE is demonstrated to intensify the glass etching action under safe working and finely monitored operative conditions and to produce smooth deep channels in short processing times with reduced underetching effects.