Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Rabih Zaouk.
We detail the widely prevalent technique of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molding using SU-8 for creating microfluidic chambers and channels. Although other techniques such as injection molding are more apt for mass manufacturing and cost-effective, PDMS molding is used almost exclusively for rapid prototyping in corporate and research environments because of its simplicity and fast turnaround time.
The lift-off technique is one of the most prevalent methods for fabricating microelectrodes on a flat surface (e.g., a silicon [Si] wafer). It represents an alternative for metal-etching techniques that often utilize hazardous chemicals in order to define a pattern. This chapter presents an example of patterning gold electrodes on an Si wafer.
The advent of photolithography literally brought about the integrated circuit (IC) revolution of the latter part of the twentieth century. Almost all electronic devices that we use today have one or more ICs inside. Improving lithography techniques led to smaller and smaller transistors, which translated into faster and more efficient computing machines. Photolithography also powered the advent of MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS), which are now starting to become more and more diverse in commercial products from mechanical to biomedical devices, helping to change the way people perceive the applicability of IC technology. In this chapter, we examine basic photolithography techniques and their uses in soft lithography and MEMS.