Fluidic microsystems based on printed circuit board technology

Wego, Ansgar; Richter, Stefan; Pagel, Lienhard

doi:10.1088/0960-1317/11/5/313

Cited by 62 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…For example, through postprocessing steps such as etching, the Cu layer can be machined into diffusers/nozzles, pump chambers [20], and thermal flow sensing electrodes [21]. Also, hot embossing and multilayer lamination steps have been used to build entire microfluidic channels, pumps and valves in the PCB polymer substrate [22]. Table I lists fabrication methods, electrical capabilities, feature sizes, device sizes and typical fabrication costs for IC processes, PCB technology, widely used PDMS molding and in-house cleanroom processes.…”

Section: Multi-layer Pcb For Digital Microfluidics a The Ideamentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct-Referencing Two-Dimensional-Array Digital Microfluidics Using Multilayer Printed Circuit Board

Gong¹,

Kim

2008

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

126

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Digital (i.e. droplet-based) microfluidics, by the electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) mechanism, has shown great potential for a wide range of applications, such as lab-on-a-chip. While most reported EWOD chips use a series of electrode pads essentially in one-dimensional line pattern designed for specific tasks, the desired universal chips allowing user-reconfigurable paths would require the electrode pads in two-dimensional pattern. However, to electrically access the electrode pads independently, conductive lines need to be fabricated underneath the pads in multiple layers, raising a cost issue especially for disposable chip applications. In this article, we report the building of digital microfluidic plates based on a printed-circuit-board (PCB), in which multilayer electrical access lines were created inexpensively using mature PCB technology. However, due to its surface topography and roughness and resulting high resistance against droplet movement, as-fabricated PCB surfaces require unacceptably high (~500 V) voltages unless coated with or immersed in oil. Our goal is EWOD operations of aqueous droplets not only on oil-covered but also on dry surfaces. To meet varying levels of performances, three types of gradually complex post-PCB microfabrication processes are developed and evaluated. By introducing land-grid-array (LGA) sockets in the packaging, a scalable digital microfluidics system with reconfigurable and low-cost chip is also demonstrated. Index TermsElectrowetting; electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD); lab-on-a-chip; microfluidics; micro total analysis system (μ TAS); surface tension I. BACKGROUND A. Digital Microfluidics DIGITAL (i.e. droplet-based) microfluidics use discrete fluid packets as carriers to achieve various fluidic functions, bio-chemical reactions, and detections in the microscale. Although droplet manipulations can also be performed inside microchannels [1], [2], non-channel configurations allow for much simpler systems and do not require external pressure sources (i.e. eliminating the need for pumps and valves). Also, electrically-driven channel-free devices are flexible for operators, allowing electronically reconfigurable two-dimensional movement on surfaces. Manipulation of droplets or bubbles has been achieved with various driving mechanisms such as electrostatic [3], dielectrophoretic (DEP) [4], continuous electrowetting (CEW) [5], electrowetting [6], electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) [7], temperature gradient NIH Public Access B. Two-dimensional digital microfluidics platesThe advantages of digital microfluidics lie mostly in its simplicity and reconfigurability for parallel liquid operation in large scale, which requires two-dimensional addressable control sites for droplet manipulation [7], [10]. For an electrical control method such as EWOD, this means a two-dimensional plate with the ability to electrically access (i.e. reference) each point independently in the MxN grid. While simple fabrication of EWOD chips with a single layer of conduction lines can produ...

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Section: Multi-layer Pcb For Digital Microfluidics a The Ideamentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct-Referencing Two-Dimensional-Array Digital Microfluidics Using Multilayer Printed Circuit Board

Gong¹,

Kim

2008

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

126

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“…The proposed technology, in addition to the use of copper as structural material for the microfluidic network [18], allows the integration of microfluidic devices with heterogeneous components, such as electronic circuits [19], sensors [20], and microheaters, following the current trend in LOC technology [21]. To complement our experiments, SC and CF DNA amplification devices fabricated on polymeric substrates with integrated microheaters are simulated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Miniaturized devices towards an integrated lab-on-a-chip platform for DNA diagnostics

et al. 2015

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Microfluidics is an emerging technology enabling the development of Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems for clinical diagnostics, drug discovery and screening, food safety and environmental analysis. LOC systems integrate and scale down one or several laboratory functions on a single chip of a few mm 2 to cm 2 in size, and account for many advantages on biochemical analyses, such as low sample and reagent consumption, low cost, reduced analysis time, portability and point-of-need compatibility. Currently, available nucleic acid diagnostic tests take advantage of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) that allows exponential amplification of portions of nucleic acid sequences that can be used as indicators for the identification of various diseases. Here, we present a comparison between static chamber and continuous flow miniaturized PCR devices, in terms of energy consumption for devices fabricated on the same material stack, with identical sample volume and channel dimensions. The comparison is implemented by a computational study coupling heat transfer in both solid and fluid, mass conservation of species, and joule heating. Based on the conclusions of this study, we develop low-cost and fast DNA amplification devices for both PCR and isothermal amplification, and we implement them in the detection of mutations related to breast cancer. The devices are fabricated by mass production amenable technologies on printed circuit board (PCB) substrates, where copper facilitates the incorporation of on-chip microheaters, defining the thermal zones necessary for PCR or isothermal amplification methods.

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“…A large number of relevant works has been published within the last three decades, mainly describing different technology implementations and variations of the operating principles (Van Putten et al 1996;Wang et al 2009). The majority of the presented microsensors are fabricated by the means of Si-based MEMS technologies, while a relatively recent trend concerns a type of sensors which employ a printed circuit board (PCB) instead of a silicon wafer as the substrate material (Petropoulos and Kaltsas 2010;Wego et al 2001). A special category of flow sensors enables the quantification of fluid flow within microchannels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling and evaluation of a thermal microfluidic sensor fabricated on plastic substrate

2011

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The simulation and the experimental evaluation of a thermal microfluidic flow sensor are presented in this work. The sensor was evaluated in calorimetric mode with water flow. The simulation was performed with COMSOL package. Various combinations of microchannel geometries were tested in different input flows. The optimum pair of upstream-downstream sensing elements were extracted theoretically and verified experimentally. The operational parameters of the device were simulated by 3D models and the optimum conditions were determined for various flow ranges.

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Fluidic microsystems based on printed circuit board technology

Cited by 62 publications

References 6 publications

Direct-Referencing Two-Dimensional-Array Digital Microfluidics Using Multilayer Printed Circuit Board

Direct-Referencing Two-Dimensional-Array Digital Microfluidics Using Multilayer Printed Circuit Board

Miniaturized devices towards an integrated lab-on-a-chip platform for DNA diagnostics

Modelling and evaluation of a thermal microfluidic sensor fabricated on plastic substrate

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