JP2008188953A - Manufacturing method of plastic-made stamper, plastic-made stamper and manufacturing method of plastic-made substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of a stamper showing excellence in a mechanical property and productivity and usable for plastic molding. <P>SOLUTION: The manufacturing method of the plastic-made stamper 21 comprises a process of making a mother stamper 12 tightly contact a plate-like plastic material 11 to fix it, a process of radiating an infrared ray 19 to the plastic material 11 directing toward the mother stamper 12, and a process of transferring a pattern of the mother stamper 12 on the plastic material 11 to form the plastic-made stamper 21, wherein the plastic material 11 having a melting temperature higher than that of the plastic material molded in the plastic molding is used as the plastic material 11 for molding the stamper. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a stamper manufacturing method used for plastic molding, a stamper used for plastic molding, and a manufacturing method of a plastic substrate having a fine shape using the stamper.

  Microfluidic chips are used in operations such as sample pretreatment, reaction, separation, and detection in the chemical and biochemical fields. Operations using these microfluidic chips are performed by a micrototal analysis system integrated on the chip.

  As such a microfluidic chip, there is one in which a micrometer to millimeter size groove or hole is formed as a flow path or a liquid reservoir on a glass or plastic substrate (for example, see Patent Document 1). For example, a micro-electrophoresis chip that forms a groove with a width of 10 to 500 μm and a depth of 1 to 500 μm on an optically transparent glass or plastic chip of several centimeters square and performs an electrophoresis operation in this fine channel There is. When analyzing a sample such as blood, the sample is injected into the flow path, a voltage is applied, and the analysis is performed by the reaction.

  For observation of a sample using a microfluidic chip, it is the mainstream to use microscopic observation. For this reason, when the constituent material of the microfluidic chip is plastic, it is necessary to have optical transparency, in particular, transparency in the visible light range. Examples of such plastics include norbornene-based cyclic polyolefins such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC), and cyclic olefin copolymer (COC).

A plastic microfluidic chip has a micrometer-sized channel formed on a substrate, and is used for analysis of proteins, DNA, and the like. In order to produce such a plastic molded product, there is a method of joining another flat plate to a flat plate having a structure such as a fine groove.
In order to give a material such as a predetermined fine groove to a material obtained by melting a flat plate or a pellet, a mold (stamper) in which irregularities are reversed with respect to the final shape is necessary.

As a stamper used for manufacturing such a microfluidic chip, a silicon substrate or a glass substrate manufactured by applying a semiconductor manufacturing technique is known.
Further, there is a method of manufacturing a metal stamper by an electrochemical casting method (Ni electroforming method) using a silicon substrate or a glass substrate as a mother stamper.

Further, as the above-mentioned stamper, a stamper having optical characteristics capable of transmitting infrared rays has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3).
By using a stamper that can transmit infrared rays, infrared rays can be efficiently absorbed in the vicinity of the transfer surface in a state where the base material having the transfer surface and the stamper are in close contact with each other.
For this reason, the infrared irradiation allows the transfer surface of the plastic substrate to absorb the energy of the infrared irradiation through the stamper, and raises the temperature near the transfer surface of the plastic substrate to reduce the viscosity. Moreover, since the stamper transmits infrared rays, infrared energy is hardly absorbed, so that the stamper can be cooled quickly and excellent in high-speed molding.

JP 2000-310613 A JP 2001-158044 A JP 2001-158045 A

  However, silicon substrates and glass substrates are susceptible to breakage due to the fragile nature of glass and silicon materials. In addition, a silicon substrate or a glass substrate is manufactured using a photolithography / etching method or a micromachining process that applies a semiconductor manufacturing method, so that the number of manufacturing processes is large and the process becomes complicated. Therefore, productivity is inferior.

In addition, since a metal stamper is manufactured using a photolithography / etching method, an electrochemical casting method, a micromachining process, etc., the manufacturing cost of the stamper increases.
Furthermore, since the metallic stamper is a non-transparent material, it is difficult to align the stamper using visible light, for example.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, a plastic stamper used for plastic molding, excellent in low contamination, releasability, and stable productivity, a method for manufacturing a stamper, and the stamper The present invention provides a method for producing a plastic substrate having a fine shape using the above.

  The method for manufacturing a plastic stamper according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a stamper used for plastic molding, in which a mother stamper is closely attached to a plate-shaped plastic material, and the mother stamper is oriented to the plastic material. And the step of irradiating infrared rays and the step of forming a stamper by transferring the pattern of the mother stamper to the plastic material. The plastic material forming the stamper has a melting temperature higher than that of the plastic material molded in plastic molding. It is characterized by using a high plastic material.

  The plastic stamper according to the present invention is characterized in that at least a part thereof is made of a fluororesin.

The method for producing a plastic substrate having a fine shape according to the present invention includes a step of closely fixing a mother stamper to a plate-like first plastic material, and directing the mother stamper to the first plastic material. Irradiating infrared rays, transferring a mother stamper pattern to the first plastic material to form a plastic stamper, and fixing the plastic stamper to the plate-like second plastic material. And a step of transferring a pattern of a plastic stamper to the second plastic material to form a plastic substrate having a fine shape. The first plastic material is melted more than the second plastic material. A high-temperature plastic is used.
Here, the melting temperature of the plastic material used in the present invention means a melting point when the plastic material has a melting point like a crystalline resin, and when the plastic material does not have a melting point like an amorphous resin. It means the glass transition point.

  According to the method for manufacturing a plastic stamper of the present invention, infrared light is irradiated toward the mother stamper while the mother stamper and the plastic material are in close contact with each other. Thereby, the mother stamper and the plastic material can be heated. Then, the mother stamper pattern can be transferred to a plastic material whose viscosity is reduced by heating.

  Further, according to the plastic stamper of the present invention, the stamper is formed using a fluororesin having a high melting temperature, transmitting infrared rays, and having excellent releasability. For this reason, the molded plastic material and the stamper can be easily peeled off and hardly contaminated, so that stable molding is possible.

  According to the method of manufacturing a plastic substrate having a fine shape according to the present invention, first, the mother stamper and the first plastic material are in close contact with each other, and infrared rays are irradiated toward the mother stamper and the plastic material. . As a result, the plastic material is heated, and the mother stamper pattern is transferred to the plastic material having a reduced viscosity to produce a plastic stamper. A plastic substrate having a fine shape can be manufactured by transferring the plastic stamper to the second plastic material.

According to the present invention, a stamper for use in plastic molding can be manufactured from a plastic material. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture a plastic stamper that is low in cost and excellent in productivity.
Further, by using this plastic stamper, a plastic substrate having a fine shape can be stably produced.

  First, an embodiment of a method for producing a plastic stamper according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for each configuration of a plastic stamper manufacturing apparatus 10 according to the plastic stamper manufacturing method of the present embodiment.
The manufacturing apparatus 10 includes an upper support frame 14 and a lower support frame 15. The upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 together with a pressing means (not shown) constitute a precision hydraulic press device, and a member assembled between the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 is press-molded. Can do.

Between the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 of the manufacturing apparatus 10, a disk-shaped plastic material 11 that is molded by this apparatus and becomes a plastic stamper is disposed.
A mother stamper 12 having a pattern for transferring a mold to the plastic material 11 is disposed on the plastic material 11. Further, a transparent heat sink 13 is connected to the mother stamper 12 at the top. The mother stamper 12 and the transparent heat sink 13 are held by the upper support frame 14 inside.

  Further, the manufacturing apparatus 10 is provided with a light source 16 for infrared irradiation, which is used when the pattern of the mother stamper 12 is transferred to the plastic material 11 above the upper support frame 14 and the transparent heat sink 13. The infrared light from the light source 16 passes through the lamp shade 17 and the optical path 18 and is irradiated below the apparatus.

Next, a method of manufacturing the plastic stamper 21 by using the manufacturing apparatus 10 described above and transferring the pattern of the mother stamper 12 to the plastic material 11 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing only the plastic material 11, the mother stamper 12, the transparent heat sink 13, the upper support frame 14, and the lower support frame 15 in the configuration of the manufacturing apparatus 10 shown in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 2A, the plastic material 11 is disposed between the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 2A, the transparent heat sink 13 is fixed on the mother stamper 12 inside the upper support frame 14 while being connected. Further, the plastic material 11 is preheated by controlling the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 with a heater (not shown) in advance to a room temperature or higher and lower than a melting temperature.

Next, the plastic material 11 is clamped between the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 with a precision hydraulic press device at a pressure of 0.07 to 0.26 MPa.
At this time, infrared rays 19 are emitted from the light source 16 shown in FIG. 1, for example, a halogen lamp (40 W / cm ² ) for a predetermined time (eg, 10 to 50 seconds). The plastic material 11 is radiantly heated by the infrared rays to raise the temperature of the plastic material 11 and reduce the viscosity.
2B, the plastic material 11 can be clamped and the pattern provided on the mother stamper 12 can be transferred to the plastic material 11.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2C, the infrared irradiation from the light source 16 is stopped, and the plastic material 11 is cooled by holding the plastic material 11 for a predetermined time (for example, about 180 seconds) with the mold clamped.
Thereby, the plastic material 11 is solidified in a state where the pattern is transferred, and becomes a plastic stamper 21.

2D, the pressure applied to the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 is released, and the mold is released from the mother stamper 12, whereby the cooled plastic stamper 21 is taken out from the manufacturing apparatus 10.
In this way, the plastic stamper 21 can be manufactured.

In the manufacturing apparatus 10 described above, in order to irradiate infrared rays toward the mother stamper 12 and the plastic material 11 and to heat the plastic material 11, the transparent heat sink 13 needs to be made of a material having high transparency to infrared rays. There is.
Further, the mother stamper 12 must be formed of a material having a melting point sufficiently higher than that of the plastic material 11 in order to heat and mold the plastic material 11.
For this reason, the mother stamper 12 is preferably made of an inorganic material having a melting point sufficiently higher than that of the plastic material 11. For example, selenium zinc (ZnSe), glass, silicon, sapphire, magnesia and the like are preferable. In particular, it is preferably formed of silicon that can be finely processed by application of a semiconductor manufacturing method.
Moreover, as the transparent heat sink 13, it is preferable to use sapphire and magnesia which are excellent in mechanical strength and thermal diffusivity as well as visible light and infrared transmittance.

  Further, the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 preferably have a strength capable of withstanding the pressure applied when the pattern of the mother stamper 12 is transferred to the plastic material 11. Moreover, in order to remove rapidly the heat | fever of the plastic material heated with infrared rays in the case of cooling, it is preferable to have the outstanding heat conductivity and heat dissipation. The upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 can be made of, for example, a metal material.

The upper holding frame 14 and the lower holding frame 15 are made of a metal material having high heat dissipation, and further, by using sapphire as the transparent heat sink 13, the plastic material 11 shown in FIG. 2C is cooled in a short time. be able to.
For this reason, it becomes possible to shorten manufacturing time and to improve the productivity of a plastic stamper.

In the manufacturing apparatus 10 described above, as the infrared light source 16, a light source that generates a radiation wavelength and a radiation intensity that can heat the mother stamper 12 or the plastic material 11 can be used. For example, when the light source 16 is a laser, the solid laser includes a semiconductor laser having an oscillation wavelength in the range of 0.8 to 1.6 μm, a YAG laser doped with Nd (neodymium) having an oscillation wavelength of 1.06 μm, A YAG laser, a fiber laser, or the like doped with Ho (holmium), Tm (thulium), and Er (erbium) having an oscillation wavelength in the range of 1.8 μm to 3.0 μm can be used. As the gas laser, a carbon monoxide laser, a carbon dioxide laser, or the like can be used as appropriate. Furthermore, a quantum cascade laser, a laser composed of an optical parametric oscillator, or the like may be used.
In addition, as the light source 16, a xenon lamp, a halogen lamp, a carbon lamp in which a carbon wire is sealed in a quartz tube, a light emitting diode, or the like can be used as appropriate.
The wavelength of the infrared ray to be irradiated can be appropriately selected within the range of the absorption wavelength of the material constituting the mother stamper 12 and the plastic material 11 to be irradiated.
Moreover, since the manufacturing apparatus 10 described above has a configuration in which the plastic material 11 can be molded using light, a safe and easy-to-use manufacturing apparatus can be configured at a relatively low cost.
The method for manufacturing the plastic stamper 21 described above uses infrared radiation heating using the light source 16 and the transparent heat sink 13. For this reason, the mother stamper 12 and the plastic material 11 can be efficiently heated and cooled, and the plastic stamper 21 can be manufactured in a short time.

  Note that the plastic material 11 used in the method for manufacturing the plastic stamper 21 described above may not be a disk shape, and may be, for example, a rectangular or square sheet or a film-like plastic material. be able to.

  Next, an example of the plastic stamper 21 manufactured by the manufacturing method described above is shown in FIG.

A plastic stamper 21 shown in FIG. 3 includes a disk-shaped plastic stamper base 23 and a convex pattern 22 on one surface of the plastic stamper base 23.
The convex pattern 22 of the plastic stamper 21 is formed by transferring the pattern of the mother stamper 12 shown in FIG. And the groove | channel which comprises the flow path in a microfluidic chip can be formed by transcribe | transferring this convex pattern 22 to the board | substrate of a microfluidic chip.
The shape of the convex pattern 22 can be appropriately designed according to the intended groove shape of the microfluidic chip. In addition, the shape of the convex pattern 22 can be changed as appropriate by changing the pattern of the mother stamper 12 to a target shape.

The size of the plastic stamper 21 can be appropriately designed according to the size of the target microfluidic chip. For example, when the plastic stamper base 23 has a diameter of about 22 mm and a thickness of about 1 mm, The convex pattern 22 can be formed with a width of about 10 to 500 μm and a height of about 1 to 500 μm.
Further, in FIG. 3, the disk-shaped plastic stamper 21 is shown, but the shape of the plastic stamper 21 is not limited to this. For example, the microfluidic chip can be easily manufactured by matching the shape of the plastic stamper 21 to the shape of the microfluidic chip. For example, the plastic stamper 21 can be formed in a sheet or film shape such as a rectangle or a square in addition to the disk shape.

  Further, since the plastic stamper 21 shown in FIG. 3 is used as a stamper in the manufacture of a microfluidic chip, which will be described later, a material having a melting temperature sufficiently higher than the material constituting the microfluidic chip is preferable. Further, in order to continuously manufacture the microfluidic chip, the plastic stamper 21 is preferably made of a material having excellent releasability.

As the material having a high melting temperature, engineering plastic (EP), super engineering plastic (SEP), or the like can be used. Examples of the engineering plastic include polyacetal (POM), polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC), modified polyphenylene ether (m-PPE), polybutylene terephthalate (PPB), and the like. Super engineering plastics include polyarylate (PAR), polysulfone (PSF), polyethersulfone (PES), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyimide (PI), and polyetherimide (PEI). And the like.
In addition, as a material having a high melting temperature and excellent releasability, a fluororesin can be exemplified,
Teflon (registered trademark) (melting point 367 ° C.), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, melting point 327 ° C.), tetrafluoroethylene / hexafluoropropylene copolymer (FEP, melting point 260 to 270 ° C.), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF, melting point) 172 to 175 ° C), polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE, melting point 300 to 310 ° C), tetrafluoroethylene perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer (PFA, melting point 300 to 310 ° C), and the like.

  Of the substances having the above properties, it is particularly preferable to use PFA having both high melting temperature and high releasability.

The stamper 21 can be manufactured from a single plastic material or a plurality of plastic materials.
For example, the above-mentioned types of plastic materials may be used alone, or by mixing or laminating a plurality of fluororesins, or by mixing or laminating fluororesins with EP and SEP. It may be manufactured.
When a plurality of plastic materials are mixed or laminated, physical properties such as melting point and releasability required for a plastic stamper can be controlled in a wider range than when a single material is used.

  In addition, when the plastic stamper 21 is formed using engineering plastic (EP) or super engineering plastic (SEP) having low releasability, fluorine resin having high releasability or the like is applied to the surface of the plastic stamper 21. By applying, releasability can be ensured. For example, by applying Teflon (registered trademark) to the surface of the plastic stamper 21, it is possible to give the plastic stamper 21 high releasability.

Since the plastic stamper 21 is made of a plastic having a flexible property as compared with fragile silicon and glass, it is excellent in that damage such as cracking hardly occurs and contamination is difficult to occur.
In addition, by selecting a material that is transparent to light in the visible range from among plastic materials, alignment and the like can be facilitated when molding a microfluidic chip described later. Therefore, operability can be improved in the manufacture of the microfluidic chip.
Furthermore, by selecting a material that is transparent to light in the visible range to infrared range, it can be used as a mold for plastic molding utilizing infrared radiation heating.

  Next, a method for manufacturing a plastic substrate for a microfluidic chip using the above-described plastic stamper 21 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view for each configuration of the plastic substrate manufacturing apparatus 20.
The plastic substrate manufacturing apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 4 can use the same apparatus as the plastic stamper manufacturing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. Therefore, in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in FIG. 1 and FIG.

Between the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 of the manufacturing apparatus 20, a disk-shaped plastic material 34 that is molded by this apparatus and becomes a plastic substrate is disposed.
A plastic stamper 21 for transferring a pattern to the plastic material 34 is disposed on the plastic material 34. Further, the transparent heat sink 13 is connected to the upper part of the plastic stamper 21. The upper support frame 14 holds the plastic stamper 21 and the transparent heat sink 13 inside.

  Furthermore, the manufacturing apparatus 20 is provided with a light source 16 for infrared irradiation, which is used when transferring the pattern of the plastic stamper 21 onto the plastic material 34 above the upper support frame 14 and the transparent heat sink 13. The infrared light from the light source 16 passes through the lamp shade 17 and the optical path 18 and is irradiated below the apparatus.

Next, a method for forming the plastic substrate 31 by transferring the pattern of the plastic stamper 21 to the plastic material 34 using the manufacturing apparatus 20 described above will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 shows only the plastic material 34, the plastic stamper 21, the transparent heat sink 13, the upper support frame 14, and the lower support frame 15 in a cross-sectional view in the configuration of the manufacturing apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 4.

First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a plastic material 34 is disposed between the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 5A, the transparent heat sink 13 is fixed to the inside of the upper support frame 14 on the plastic stamper 21. The plastic material 34 is preheated by controlling the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 below the melting temperature of the plastic material 34 with a heater (not shown) in advance.

Next, the plastic material 34 is clamped between the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 with a precision hydraulic press device at a pressure of about 0.1 MPa.
At this time, infrared rays 29 are emitted from the light source 16 shown in FIG. 4, for example, a halogen lamp (40 W / cm ² ) for a predetermined time (for example, 8 to 28 seconds). Then, by heating the plastic material 34 with the infrared rays, the temperature of the plastic stamper 21 and the plastic material 34 is raised and the viscosity is lowered.
Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5B, the plastic material 34 is clamped, and the pattern provided on the plastic stamper 21 can be transferred to the plastic material 34.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the infrared irradiation from the light source 16 is stopped, and the plastic material 34 is cooled by holding the plastic material 34 for a predetermined time (for example, about 10 seconds) while being clamped.
Thereby, the plastic material 34 is solidified in a state where the pattern is transferred, and becomes a plastic substrate 31 for the microfluidic chip.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5D, the pressure applied to the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 is released, and the plastic material 34 is taken out from the manufacturing apparatus 20 by releasing from the plastic stamper 21.
In this way, the plastic substrate 31 for the microfluidic chip can be manufactured.

  In the process shown in FIG. 5B described above, the wavelength of the infrared rays 29 applied to the plastic stamper 21 and the plastic material 34 is within the range of the absorption wavelength of the material constituting the plastic stamper 21 and the plastic material 34 to be irradiated. It can be selected appropriately.

  In the method for manufacturing the plastic substrate 31 described above, the plastic material 34 used may not be in the shape of a disk. For example, the plastic material 34 has a shape similar to the shape of the plastic stamper 21, thereby facilitating alignment during molding. For this reason, it is preferable that the shape of the plastic material 34 is appropriately selected from a disk-like, rectangular, square or other sheet-like or film-like plastic material in accordance with the shape of the plastic stamper 21.

  Next, an example of the plastic substrate 31 manufactured by the above-described molding method is shown in FIG.

A plastic substrate 31 shown in FIG. 6 includes a disk-shaped plastic base 33 and a concave pattern 32 formed on one surface of the plastic base 33.
The concave pattern 32 of the plastic substrate 31 is formed by transferring the convex pattern 22 of the plastic stamper 21 shown in FIG.
And this concave pattern 32 forms the groove | channel used as a flow path in a microfluidic chip.

  The shape of the concave pattern 32 can be appropriately changed according to the intended groove shape of the microfluidic chip. Further, the shape of the concave pattern 32 can be appropriately changed to the desired groove shape of the microfluidic chip by changing the shape of the convex pattern 22 of the plastic stamper 21 shown in FIG.

The size of the plastic substrate 31 can be appropriately designed according to the size of the target microfluidic chip. For example, when the plastic substrate 33 has a diameter of about 24 mm and a thickness of about 1 mm, the concave pattern can be formed with a width of about 10 to 500 μm and a depth of about 1 to 500 μm.
Moreover, in FIG. 6, although the disk-shaped plastic substrate 31 is shown, the shape of the plastic substrate 31 is not restricted to this.
The plastic substrate 31 has a microfluidic chip formed by bonding a lid member thereto. For this reason, the production of the microfluidic chip can be facilitated by forming the plastic substrate 31 in accordance with the shape of the microfluidic chip. For example, the plastic substrate 31 can be formed in a rectangular or square sheet or film shape other than the disk shape.

  Further, the plastic substrate 31 shown in FIG. 6 needs to use a material having a melting temperature sufficiently lower than that of the plastic stamper 21 described above.

  The plastic substrate 31 may be made of, for example, an amorphous cyclic olefin copolymer (COC, glass transition point 40 to 180 ° C.), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, glass transition point 105 ° C.), polycarbonate (PC, glass). A plastic material having excellent optical transparency such as a transition point of 150 ° C. can be used.

  Next, an embodiment of a method for welding a microfluidic chip using the above-described plastic substrate 31 for the microfluidic chip will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view for each configuration of the microfluidic chip welding apparatus 30 according to the microfluidic chip welding method of the present embodiment.
The microfluidic chip welding apparatus 30 shown in FIG. 7 may use the same apparatus as the manufacturing apparatus 10 for the plastic stamper 21 and the manufacturing apparatus 20 for the plastic substrate 31 shown in FIGS. it can. Therefore, in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 4, and FIG.

Between the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 of the welding apparatus 30, a plastic substrate 31 and a lid member 35 that are molded by this apparatus and become a microfluidic chip are arranged.
A transparent heat sink 13B is provided below the plastic substrate 31, and a transparent heat sink 13A is provided above the lid member 35.
Further, a pattern mask 38 for shielding infrared rays is provided on the transparent heat sink 13A in accordance with the groove portion provided on the surface of the plastic substrate 31.
The transparent heat sink 13 </ b> A is held inside the upper support frame 14, and the lower transparent heat sink 13 </ b> B is held inside the lower support frame 15.

  Further, the welding apparatus 30 is provided with a light source 16 for infrared irradiation used when the plastic substrate 31 and the lid member 35 are bonded to each other above the upper support frame 14 and the pattern mask 38. The infrared light from the light source 16 passes through the lamp shade 17 and the optical path 18 and is irradiated below the apparatus.

  The shape of the lid member 35 is the same disk shape as that of the plastic substrate 31, and penetrates in the thickness direction of the lid member 35 at a position corresponding to the end of the groove (concave portion) formed in the plastic substrate 31. A hole is provided.

The pattern mask 38 is a thin film component formed by foil, plating, vapor deposition, or the like, and is formed of gold, aluminum, chromium, nickel, or the like that can shield infrared rays.
Then, by providing the pattern mask 38 according to the shape of the groove portion of the plastic substrate 31, it is possible to prevent infrared irradiation to the groove portion of the plastic substrate 31. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the groove shape from being deformed by directly irradiating the groove portion of the plastic substrate 31 with infrared rays.

Next, a method for welding a microfluidic chip using the above-described welding apparatus 30 and welding the plastic substrate 31 and the lid member 35 will be described with reference to FIG.
8 is a cross-sectional view of only the plastic substrate 31, the lid member 35, the transparent heat sinks 13A and 13B, the mask pattern 38, the upper support frame 14, and the lower support frame 15 of the structure of the welding apparatus 30 shown in FIG. This is shown in the figure.

First, as shown in FIG. 8A, a plastic substrate 31 and a lid member 35 are disposed between the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 8A, the transparent heat sink 13 </ b> A is fixed in the upper support frame 14, and the transparent heat sink 13 </ b> B is fixed in the lower support frame 15.
Further, by controlling the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 to a temperature lower than the thermal deformation temperature of the plastic substrate 31 by a heater (not shown) in advance, the plastic substrate 31 and the lid member 35 are heated. Keep it.

Next, the plastic substrate 31 and the lid member 35 are assembled between the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15, and the pressure is pressurized to about 0.1 MPa from above and below by a precision hydraulic press device.
At this time, infrared rays 39 are radiated from the light source 16 shown in FIG. 7, for example, a halogen lamp (irradiance 12 W / cm ² ) for a predetermined time (for example, 8 to 20 seconds). Then, the contact surface between the plastic substrate 31 and the lid member 35 is radiantly heated by the infrared rays, whereby the temperature of the plastic material is raised and the viscosity is lowered.
Further, the infrared rays 39 can be shielded by the mask pattern 38 provided in accordance with the concave pattern 32 of the plastic substrate 31. For this reason, deformation of the concave pattern 32 due to infrared radiation heating can be prevented.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 8B, the plastic substrate 31 and the lid member 35 can be welded in a short time while suppressing the deformation of the convex pattern 32.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, cooling is performed by holding the plastic substrate 31 and the lid member 35 for a predetermined time (for example, about 10 seconds).
Thereby, the plastic substrate 31 and the lid member 35 are solidified in a welded state, and the microfluidic chip 40 is obtained.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8D, the pressure applied to the upper support frame 14 and the lower support frame 15 is released and released from the plastic stamper 21, whereby the cooled microfluidic chip 40 is taken out from the welding apparatus 30.
In this way, the microfluidic chip 40 can be manufactured.

  In the process shown in FIG. 8B described above, the wavelength of the infrared rays 39 applied to the plastic substrate 31 and the lid member 35 is within the range of the absorption wavelength of the polymer constituting the plastic substrate 31 and the lid member 35 to be irradiated. Can be appropriately selected.

  In the above-described method of welding the microfluidic chip 40, the plastic substrate 31 and the lid member 35 that are used may not be disk-shaped. The shapes of the plastic substrate 31 and the lid member 35 are preferably appropriately selected from disc-shaped, rectangular, square, and other sheet-like or film-like plastic materials according to the shape of the target microfluidic chip 40.

  In the above-described method for welding the microfluidic chip 40, the pattern mask 38 is used. However, when deformation of the groove shape of the plastic substrate 31 due to infrared irradiation is not a problem, or by selecting the material of the plastic substrate 31 or the amount of infrared irradiation, the deformation of the groove shape can be reduced to a negligible level. The microfluidic chip 40 can be welded without using the pattern mask 38.

Further, in the above-described welding apparatus 30, the pattern mask 38 is provided on the transparent heat sink 13A. However, the position of the pattern mask 38 may be provided at any position between the light source 16, the microfluidic chip 40, and the contact surface of the transparent heat sink 13A.
For example, when the transparent heat sink 13A is composed of a plurality of layers, it can be provided between the layers of the plurality of transparent heat sinks 13A.

Further, the above-described welding apparatus 30 has a configuration in which the transparent heat sink 13 </ b> B is provided in the lower support frame 15. However, the welding apparatus 30 may be configured such that the transparent heat sink 15 is not provided in the lower support frame 15 as in the manufacturing apparatuses 10 and 20 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4.
When the plastic material is radiantly heated by irradiating infrared rays, the heat dissipation can be enhanced by sandwiching the plastic material between the transparent heat sinks 13A and 13B. For this reason, the welding time can be shortened, and the productivity of the microfluidic chip can be improved.

  Next, an example of the microfluidic chip 40 manufactured by the above-described welding method is shown in FIG.

  A microfluidic chip 40 shown in FIG. 9 is configured by welding a lid member 35 on a surface of a plastic substrate 31 on which a concave pattern (groove) 32 is formed. And it welds in the state in which the position of the edge part of the groove | channel 32 provided in the plastic board | substrates 31 and the through-hole 36 of the cover member 35 correspond substantially.

  The groove 32 of the plastic substrate 31 serves as a flow path for the analysis sample in the microfluidic chip. The through hole 36 of the lid member 35 is an opening through which the analysis sample is input into or discharged from the flow path of the microfluidic chip. Further, it serves as a reservoir for the analysis sample that is put into the flow path of the microfluidic chip. From the viewpoint of workability, the through hole 36 preferably has an inner diameter in the range of 0.5 to 10 mm, and more preferably in the range of 1 to 5 mm.

In the microfluidic chip 40 shown in FIG. 9, two grooves 32 intersect each other and are connected to four through holes 36 at each end of the groove 32. However, the number and shape of the grooves 32 and the through holes 36 provided in the microfluidic chip 40 can be arbitrarily designed as necessary.
It should be noted that at least one flow path provided in the microfluidic chip 40 is required for analyzing the sample. For this reason, it is necessary to form at least one groove 32 in the plastic substrate 31.
The flow path of the microfluidic chip 40 may be formed by a plurality of grooves 32. And when forming the several groove | channel 32, it is preferable to make each groove | channel 32 cross | intersect. Moreover, it is preferable to connect the through holes 36 to the end portions of the plurality of grooves 32.

The lid member 35 is made of a transparent plastic material such as amorphous cyclic olefin copolymer (COC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), etc., as in the material constituting the plastic substrate 31 described above. Can be used. Further, a styrene thermoplastic elastomer such as styrene ethylene butylene styrene block copolymer (SEBS) or styrene ethylene propylene styrene block copolymer (SEPS), or a transparent elastomer such as olefin thermoplastic elastomer may be used. it can.
In particular, since COC and styrene elastomer or COC and olefin elastomer are a combination of materials that are easily welded to each other, COC is used for either one of plastic substrate 31 and lid material 35, and styrene is used for the other. It is preferable to use an elastomer or an olefin-based elastomer.

  In the present embodiment, the manufacturing apparatuses 10 and 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 and the welding apparatus 30 shown in FIG. 7 can be used in common. For this reason, the capital investment for manufacturing the microfluidic chip can be minimized, and the cost can be reduced by using the apparatus in common.

  In the above-described embodiment, the method for manufacturing a plastic substrate having a fine shape according to the present invention is applied to the method for manufacturing a microfluidic chip. However, the method for producing a plastic substrate having a fine shape according to the present invention is not limited to the method for producing a microfluidic chip, and for example, a method for producing a plastic substrate having a fine shape, such as a plastic substrate having a fine uneven shape. Can be applied.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration, and various other configurations can be employed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a figure explaining the manufacturing apparatus of a plastic stamper. AD is a figure explaining the manufacturing method of the plastic stamper of this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a plastic stamper. It is a figure explaining the manufacturing apparatus of the plastic substrate for microfluidic chips. AD is a figure explaining the manufacturing method of the plastic substrate for microfluidic chips. It is a figure which shows an example of the plastic-made board | substrates for microfluidic chips. It is a figure explaining the welding apparatus of a microfluidic chip. AD is a figure explaining the welding method of a microfluidic chip | tip. It is a figure which shows a microfluidic chip.

Explanation of symbols

  10, 20 Manufacturing equipment, 11, 34 Plastic material, 12 Mother stamper, 13, 13A, 13B Transparent heat sink, 14, Upper support frame, 15 Lower support frame, 16 Light source, 17 Lamp shade, 18 Light path, 19, 29, 39 Infrared, 21 Plastic stamper, 22 Convex pattern, 23 Plastic stamper base, 30 Welding device, 31 Plastic substrate, 32 Concave pattern, 33 Plastic base, 35 Lid member, 36 Through hole, 38 Pattern mask, 40 Microfluidic Chip

Claims (7)

A method of manufacturing a stamper used for plastic molding,
A step of closely fixing the mother stamper to the plate-like plastic material;
Irradiating the plastic material with infrared rays toward the mother stamper;
A step of transferring a pattern of the mother stamper to the plastic material to form a stamper;
A method for producing a plastic stamper, wherein a plastic material having a melting temperature higher than that of a plastic material molded in the plastic molding is used as the plastic material forming the stamper.   The method of manufacturing a plastic stamper according to claim 1, wherein the plastic molding is a molding process of a microfluidic chip substrate.   The method for manufacturing a plastic stamper according to claim 1, wherein a material at least part of which is a fluororesin is used as the plastic material.   A plastic stamper for plastic molding processing, characterized in that at least a part thereof is made of a fluororesin.   The plastic stamper according to claim 4, wherein the fluororesin is a tetrafluoroethylene perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer. A step of closely fixing the mother stamper to the plate-like first plastic material;
Irradiating the first plastic material with infrared rays toward the mother stamper;
Transferring a pattern of the mother stamper to the first plastic material to form a plastic stamper;
A step of closely fixing the plastic stamper to the plate-like second plastic material;
Transferring the pattern of the plastic stamper to the second plastic material to form a plastic substrate having a fine shape,
A method of manufacturing a plastic substrate having a fine shape, wherein a plastic having a melting temperature higher than that of the second plastic material is used for the first plastic material.   The method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of manufacturing a microfluidic chip by welding a lid member to the plastic substrate having the fine shape after the step of forming the plastic substrate having the fine shape. Of manufacturing a plastic substrate having a fine shape.

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