Injection Molded Micro-Cantilever and Membrane Sensor Devices and Process for Their Fabrication

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This invention relates to microdevices such as micro-cantilevers and thin membranes that are fabricated using micro-injection molding, where additional functionalities are imparted by applying micro- or nano-patterns to their surfaces using a specialized foil-like mold. These patterns—topographical or chemical—allow the mechanical, optical, and surface properties of the devices to be easily customized without altering their main structure or requiring new molds. The process enables rapid, flexible, and cost-effective production of micro-sensor devices with tailored features for diverse applications.

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• Biosensors for detecting biological or chemical reactions by monitoring micro-cantilever deflection (for diagnostics or environmental testing)
• Cell engineering platforms for studying or directing cell adhesion, growth, and differentiation by surface patterning
• Microfluidic devices where channels or sieves are precisely formed for lab-on-chip applications
• Optical devices or sensors using integrated features like diffraction gratings, mirrors, or lenses for light manipulation or calibration
• Force sensors to measure mechanical properties at the microscale (e.g., contractility of cells)
• Containers or carriers for micro-quantities of liquids or particles
• Calibration artifacts for atomic force microscopy (AFM)
• Production of arrays of cantilevers or membranes with individual, customized functional surfaces
• Packaging or security tags using patterned identification features (barcodes, optical markers)

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• Enables rapid customization of device properties without redesigning or remachining the mold, reducing time and cost for prototyping and production.
• Allows integration of multiple functionalities (mechanical, optical, biological) on a single device or across arrays.
• Facilitates mass production via micro-injection molding, including roll-to-roll processes for large-scale manufacturing.
• Improves mechanical performance (e.g., stiffness, resonance frequency) and surface chemical/physical properties as needed for specific applications.
• Supports the use of various polymers and functional coatings, including biocompatible and chemically active surfaces.
• Enhances flexibility in device design, enabling modification of functional features with minimal effort.
• Provides more robust demolding of delicate structures, reducing damage and increasing yield for high aspect ratio or fragile microstructures.
• Simplifies addition of temporary or permanent surface coatings, such as metals or functional layers, by direct transfer during molding.
• Enables the creation of advanced microdevices for a broad range of scientific, medical, and industrial uses.

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Patent Abstract

The microdevice according to the present invention is an element which comprises a body element of a few mm size and a thin membrane or cantilever like element which gains additional functionality by incorporating a micro- or nanopattern (either topography or chemical modification) on one side of the cantilever or membrane like part. The device is fabricated by micro-injection molding with a microfabricated or micromachined mold cavity. By using an additional foil-like mold, functionality is added to the microdevice without major modifications of its shape, outlines and volume. Thus mechanical and optical properties can be modified, simply by adding an additional device/element (an optical diffraction grating), a roughness (for controlling biocell adhesion and growth) and selectivity (for selection by size, shape). Also mechanical performance (stiffness, resonance frequency) can be modified by corrugations in the thin areas of the cantilevers or membranes. Due to the flexibility of the process, modifications of the setup can be done easily with little effort, i.e. without fabricating a new mold. The invention is based on the method for surface patterning of foils.