3. Design and manufacture of microfluidic chips for crystallization

3.1 Materials and manufacturing techniques

Initially, the first microfluidic structures were designed and manufactured in silicon and glass, taking advantage of well-mastered and standardized lithographic protocols from the microelectronics industry. However, these costly and time-consuming structures require highly specialized equipment, which is often only available in cleanroom environments. Soon, other microelectronic materials and techniques were adapted for the fabrication of microfluidic systems, and the term "soft lithography" was coined to name a family of techniques used to design microfluidic structures by cast molding, using more affordable approaches. These techniques are illustrated in figure