Role of heat treatment in improving replication quality of PDMS double-casting.

An efficient and eco-friendly method utilizing the heat treatment of the PDMS master is proposed for improving the replication quality of PDMS double-casting. The effects of heat treatment on interfacial adhesion are investigated in terms of uncured low molecular weight chains, surface energy, and surface roughness. The PDMS master treated at 150 °C for 72 h shows the highest replication quality of micropatterns with a diameter and height of 30 μm.