The glass wafer is having a moment. Electronic manufacturers increasingly opt for glass over other substrate materials due to its versatility.Glass wafers can be found in electronic products like high-resolution displays, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), and emerging markets like biochips. Discover how this small but mighty component is benefiting the electronics industry and advancing the quality of devices.
How The Glass Wafer Is Miniaturizing MEM-Based Microfluidic Devices
Micro-electromechanical systems use glass substrates because of their high chemical, thermal, and mechanical stability. These unique properties make it possible to fabricate nanoscale and microscale devices. MEM-based devices that have been miniaturized due to the use of glass substrates include smartphones, virtual reality devices, pressure sensors, and lab-on-a-chip microfluidic devices.
Photo Solutions has years of experience creating glass wafers, custom substrates, and microfluidic lab-on-chip devices. To create taper cut wafers, we use CNC diamond glass machining, which obtains tolerances as tight as +/-5um while cutting slots and part outlines to imaged features on various substrates up to 180mm square. We can also use our laser filamentation technique to cut non-tapered edge wafers. You need excellent machining and high-precision etching to construct quality microfluidic lab-on-chip devices with complex, microscale structures for optimal control and flow of liquids. Our microlithography service can make image features as small as 2um on glass.
The Role Of Glass Wafers In The Emerging Biochip Market
We’ve covered how glass wafers provide substrates that allow for the miniaturization of electronic devices. Due to their scalable features and biocompatibility, glass wafers are also used in the emerging biochip market. A specific advantage of glass substrates is their ideal surface for plasmon resonance (SPR), which enables biosensors and optical sensors on a biochip to immobilize biological molecules, DNA, antibodies, and enzymes. Once attached to the glass substrate surface, the SPR can quantify the molecule’s concentration.
Glass substrates make it possible for biochips to diagnose diseases, test potential drugs on biological samples, transduce biological signals for analysis, and monitor environmental samples for toxins. To guarantee high-quality SPR, we use our cost-effective laser filamentation technique to make chip-sized glass wafers with a radius of 1um to lower surface roughness.
Contact Photo Solutions To Get A Free Quote For Your Glass Wafer Project
Considering the auxiliary traits and low cost of glass wafers, it’s no wonder demand is soaring. If you want to work with a reputable, experienced company for your glass wafer fabrication, contact Photo Solutions for a free quote. We offer various machining services and techniques to build high-performance glass wafers for any application.
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