Replication of surface micro-structures in isothermal moulding: Experiments and Numerical Simulations

The forming of well-defined micro surface structures on polymer materials is important for the production of devices for biology and optics and well established in commercial polymer-processing operations. This is the case in for example the production of DVD discs used for high-density data storage and micro fluidic systems respectively.

These devices are typically processed using injection moulding or hot embossing. In this work, we focus on isothermal moulding. This allows an investigation of the effect of the rheological properties of the polymer melt during processing on the ability of the material to fill small structures in a mould surface.