Monolithic SU-8 microcavities for efficient fluorescence collection

The fabrication of capped microstructures such as channels or cavities typically involves multiple production steps. In this work, we demonstrate a fabrication procedure that enables the generation of capped monolithic microstructures of arbitrary geometry in one single SU-8 exposure step. The presented method also enables the embedment of metal self-aligned surfaces for use as electrodes or mirrors. The devices furthermore demonstrate a capability of increasing fluorescent collection, as measured by an epi-fluorescent inverted microscope, by up to 15-fold.