A PDMS/LTCC bonding technique for microfluidic application

A novel bonding method of glass-covered low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) to transparent polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer is reported in this paper. The irreversible bonding between both materials was achieved by exposing their surfaces to an oxygen plasma. The influence of different plasma treatment process parameters (system power, time of surfaces activation) and glass/ceramics firing temperatures (Tmax = 700–875 °C, co-fired, post-fired) on the bonding process was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the glass surface quality after firing at various temperatures. Contact angle measurements, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to investigate properties of the PDMS and glass-covered LTCC surfaces before and after oxygen plasma treatment.