Figure 1

Key stages of the laser-based technique for the rapid fabrication of glass microfluidic devices. STEP 1 involves the design of a microfluidic pattern and importing it to the laser machining software (Trumpf Trutops PFO). In STEP 2, the laser generates the microfluidic pattern directly on the glass surface by ablating the material. In this step, inlet/outlet ports are also generated in the second glass plate. In STEP 3, the glass plates are cleaned in order to remove debris and burrs generated during the laser machining process. STEP 4 involves bringing the laser-machined glass plates into optical contact. This process is called pre-bonding. STEP 5 is a laser microwelding process in which the two glass plates are permanently bonded together without using any adhesives nor intermediate layers. The welding closes any pre-existing gaps between the two materials, making the device leak-proof and free of air gaps. All photographs were taken during different fabrication stages of a microfluidic device.