Multi-component hot embossing of micro- and nanosystems

The combination of different polymer materials during replication offers additional opportunities for fabrication and functionality of microsystems. Different surface and structural properties of polymers allow for improvements in microsystems for example by means of hydrophilic and hydrophobic combinations in microfluidic devices. Due to its high flexibility and precision hot embossing as one of the established micro replication processes facilitates processing of several polymer layers in one single process step. By this multi-component process microstructured systems consisting of thin layers of different polymers with adapted surface properties are fabricated. In this paper we describe the challenge of molding different types of polymers and some applications for multi-component microsystems.