Patent 7314599 was granted and assigned to Agilent Technologies on January, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A fabrication and adhesion method for a polyaryl-ether-ketone (PAEK) device, such as a microfluidic device, is disclosed. At least one glassy uncrystallized PAEK substrate is heated up to near or above the glass transition temperature to allow the substrate to crystallize from the glass state, while embossing the substrate with patterns. Bonding the PAEK substrate to another substrate is accomplished using a solvent-resistant adhesive, such as a polyimide-based adhesive, in combination with an adhesion enhancement treatment. In certain embodiments, the adhesion enhancement treatment is a plasma treatment or a chemical sulfonation treatment.