The redistribution of impurities during thermal oxidation of silicon was studied both theoretically and experimentally. Experiments with specific impurities indicate that gallium, boron, and indium deplete from silicon, while phosphorus, antimony, and arsenic pile up during thermal oxidation. It is shown that the redistribution process can be significantly influenced by the escape of impurities through the oxide layer as well as by the segregation of the impurity at the oxide-silicon interface.

Sealing of the flow channel is an important aspect during integration of microfluidic channels and optical waveguides. The uneven topography of many waveguide-fabrication techniques will lead to leakage of the fluid channels. Planarization methods such as chemical mechanical polishing or the etch-back technique are possible, but troublesome. We present a simple but efficient alternative: By means of changing the waveguide layout, bonding pads are formed along the microfluidic channels. With the same height as the waveguide, they effectively prevent leakage and hermetically seal the channels during bonding. Negligible influence on light propagation is found when 10-mum-wide bonding pads are used. Fabricated microsystems with application in absorbance measurements and flow cytometry are presented.

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