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EP-4294569-B1 - HYBRID GLASS PLASTIC FLOW CELL AND FABRICATION METHODS

EP4294569B1EP 4294569 B1EP4294569 B1EP 4294569B1EP-4294569-B1

Inventors

  • ZIEBARTH, JONATHAN
  • ADAY, JON
  • CRIVELLI, PAUL
  • Kreindl, Gerald
  • SHARMA, AMIT

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20220218

Claims (14)

  1. A method comprising: for each patterned wafer of at least two patterned wafers: (a) singulating the wafer into individual dies, wherein each individual die comprises an active area of a given flow cell; (b) orienting each die on a temporary substrate, wherein the orienting creates spaces between each individual die; and (c) molding a material over the spaces such that a top surface of the molded material is contiguous with a portion of the top surface of each active area to create a hybrid wafer comprised of glass and molded material; and (d) bonding a first hybrid wafer formed from a first patterned wafer of the at least two patterned wafers to a second hybrid wafer formed from a second patterned wafer of the at least two patterned wafers, wherein the bonding couples the top surface of the molded material of the first hybrid wafer to the top surface of the molded material of the second hybrid wafer, forming a bonded wafer stack; wherein the method further comprises a step of performing chemical processes on a surface, wherein said step is either (i) a step of performing chemical processes on a surface of the patterned wafer to prepare the surface of the patterned wafer to add specific chemical functionality to the surface; said step being performed before step (a); or (ii) a step of performing chemical processes on a surface of the hybrid wafer to add specific chemical functionality to the surface; said step being performed between steps (c) and (d).
  2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of performing chemical processes on a surface is step (i).
  3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of performing chemical processes on a surface is step (ii)
  4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the two or more patterned wafers are selected from the group consisting of: circular wafers and non-circular panels.
  5. The method of any of claims 1 or 4, wherein the two or more patterned wafers comprise glass.
  6. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein the singulating comprises perforating the patterned wafer utilizing a technique selected from the group consisting of: laser dicing the patterned wafer, saw dicing the patterned wafer, and scribe and break processing the patterned wafer.
  7. The method of claim 6, wherein the technique comprises laser dicing and the laser dicing comprises: laser dicing the patterned wafer to create perforations between the dies; and separating the patterned wafer into the dies at those perforations.
  8. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the bonding comprises utilizing a double-sided adhesive, wherein a thickness of the double sided adhesive creates a space between the top surface of the molded material of the first hybrid wafer and the top surface of the molded material of the second hybrid wafer, for a fluidic channel.
  9. The method of any of claims 1-8, further comprising: dicing the bonded wafer stack to form at least one flow cell.
  10. The method of any of claims 1-9, wherein molding the material over the spaces comprises overmolding the material on the temporary substrate and curing the material.
  11. The method of any of claims 1-10, wherein singulating the wafer into the individual dies comprises: singulating the wafer into an initial set of singulated dies; and singulating each die of the initial set of sigulated dies into one or more pieces, wherein the one or more pieces of each die of the initial set of sigulated dies comprise the individual dies.
  12. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the orienting is accomplished by utilizing a pick and place process.
  13. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein performing the chemical processes comprises coating the patterned wafer with one or more functional layers.
  14. The method of any of claims 1-12, wherein performing the chemical processes comprises: treating the surface of the patterned wafer; coating the surface of the patterned wafer with a hydrogel; and polishing the surface of the patterned wafer.

Description

BACKGROUND Various protocols in biological or chemical research involve performing controlled reactions. The designated reactions can then be observed or detected and subsequent analysis can help identify or reveal properties of chemicals involved in the reaction. In some multiplex assays, an unknown analyte having an identifiable label (e.g., fluorescent label) can be exposed to thousands of known probes under controlled conditions. Each known probe can be deposited into a corresponding well of a microplate. Observing any chemical reactions that occur between the known probes and the unknown analyte within the wells can help identify or reveal properties of the analyte. Other examples of such protocols include known DNA sequencing processes, such as sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) or cyclic-array sequencing. In some fluorescent-detection protocols, an optical system is used to direct excitation light onto fluorophores, e.g., fluorescently-labeled analytes and to also detect the fluorescent emissions signal light that can emit from the analytes having attached fluorophores. In other proposed detection systems, the controlled reactions in a flow cell are detected by a solid-state light sensor array (e.g., a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) detector). In other systems, a glass die is utilized as an imaging or other detection surface. These systems do not involve a large optical assembly to detect the fluorescent emissions. The shape of the fluidic flow channel in a flow cell may determine its utility for various uses, for example, SBS or cyclic-array sequencing is enabled in a sensor system utilizing multiple liquid flows, and thus, a fluidic flow channel of specific shape is utilized for SBS or cyclic-array sequencing. When patterned glass wafers are utilized to fabricate flow cells, where a die cut from the patterned glass wafer served as at least part of an active surface, including but not limited to, an active imaging area, much of the glass wafer is wasted once the die is delineated. Methods for manufacturing biological arrays for flow cells using wafers are known from WO 2018/119101 A1 and US 10486153 B2. SUMMARY Accordingly, it may be beneficial to fabricate hybrid (glass and plastic or another moldable material) flow cells that include glass dies from a patterned wafer and provide multiple lanes for the flow cells because these methods would: 1) increase utilization of expensive nanopatterned glass wafers (e.g., reduce fixed cost (FC) and cost of goods (COGs)); 2) increase the flexibility for nanopatterned wafers, by, for example, enabling utilization of the same nano-imprint lithography (NIL) template for multiple form factors; and/or 3) allow for new fluidic channel designs, which may improve flushing efficiency, reduce reagent consumption, and decrease fluidic cycle times. Thus, shortcomings of the prior art can be overcome and benefits as described later in this disclosure can be achieved through the provision of a method for forming aspects of a flow cell. Various examples of the method are described below, and the method, including and excluding the additional examples enumerated below, in any combination (provided these combinations are not inconsistent), overcome these shortcomings. In some examples herein, the method comprises: for each patterned wafer of at least two patterned wafers: performing chemical processes on a surface of the patterned wafer to prepare the surface of the patterned wafer to add specific chemical functionality to the surface; singulating the wafer into individual dies, wherein each individual die comprises an active area of a given flow cell; orienting each die on a temporary substrate, wherein the orienting creates spaces between each individual die; and molding a material over the spaces such that a top surface of the molded material is contiguous with a portion of the top surface of each active area to create a hybrid wafer comprised of glass and molded material; and bonding a first hybrid wafer formed from a first patterned wafer of the at least two patterned wafers to a second hybrid wafer formed from a second patterned wafer of the at least two patterned wafers, wherein the bonding couples the top surface of the molded material of the first hybrid wafer to the top surface of the molded material of the second hybrid wafer, forming a bonded wafer stack. In some examples, the two or more patterned wafers are selected from the group consisting of: circular wafers and non-circular panels. In some examples, the two or more patterned wafers comprise glass. In some examples, singulating comprises perforating the patterned wafer utilizing a technique selected from the group consisting of: laser dicing the patterned wafer, saw dicing the patterned wafer, and scribe and break processing the patterned wafer. In some examples, the technique comprises laser dicing and the laser dicing comprises: laser dicing the patterned wafer to create perforations between the d