Magnetic forces are now being utilised in an amazing variety of microfluidic applications. Magnetohydrodynamic flow has been applied to the pumping of fluids through microchannels. Magnetic materials such as ferrofluids or magnetically doped PDMS have been used as valves. Magnetic microparticles have been employed for mixing of fluid streams. Magnetic particles have also been used as solid supports for bioreactions in microchannels. Trapping and transport of single cells are being investigated and recently, advances have been made towards the detection of magnetic material on-chip. The aim of this review is to introduce and discuss the various developments within the field of magnetism and microfluidics.

Magnetism and microfluidics

Micro total analysis systems. Recent developments.

Part I: Background and Fundamentals Introduction, Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, University of Notre Dame Scaling of Micromechanical Devices, William Trimmer, Standard MEMS, Inc., and Robert H. Stroud, Aerospace Corporation Mechanical Properties of MEMS Materials, William N. Sharpe, Jr., Johns Hopkins University Flow Physics, Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, University of Notre Dame Integrated Simulation for MEMS: Coupling Flow-Structure-Thermal-Electrical Domains, Robert M. Kirby and George Em Karniadakis, Brown University, and Oleg Mikulchenko and Kartikeya Mayaram, Oregon State University Liquid Flows in Microchannels, Kendra V. Sharp and Ronald J. Adrian, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Juan G. Santiago and Joshua I. Molho, Stanford University Burnett Simulations of Flows in Microdevices, Ramesh K. Agarwal and Keon-Young Yun, Wichita State University Molecular-Based Microfluidic Simulation Models, Ali Beskok, Texas A&M University Lubrication in MEMS, Kenneth S. Breuer, Brown University Physics of Thin Liquid Films, Alexander Oron, Technion, Israel Bubble/Drop Transport in Microchannels, Hsueh-Chia Chang, University of Notre Dame Fundamentals of Control Theory, Bill Goodwine, University of Notre Dame Model-Based Flow Control for Distributed Architectures, Thomas R. Bewley, University of California, San Diego Soft Computing in Control, Mihir Sen and Bill Goodwine, University of Notre Dame Part II: Design and Fabrication Materials for Microelectromechanical Systems Christian A. Zorman and Mehran Mehregany, Case Western Reserve University MEMS Fabrication, Marc J. Madou, Nanogen, Inc. LIGA and Other Replication Techniques, Marc J. Madou, Nanogen, Inc. X-Ray-Based Fabrication, Todd Christenson, Sandia National Laboratories Electrochemical Fabrication (EFAB), Adam L. Cohen, MEMGen Corporation Fabrication and Characterization of Single-Crystal Silicon Carbide MEMS, Robert S. Okojie, NASA Glenn Research Center Deep Reactive Ion Etching for Bulk Micromachining of Silicon Carbide, Glenn M. Beheim, NASA Glenn Research Center Microfabricated Chemical Sensors for Aerospace Applications, Gary W. Hunter, NASA Glenn Research Center, Chung-Chiun Liu, Case Western Reserve University, and Darby B. Makel, Makel Engineering, Inc. Packaging of Harsh-Environment MEMS Devices, Liang-Yu Chen and Jih-Fen Lei, NASA Glenn Research Center Part III: Applications of MEMS Inertial Sensors, Paul L. Bergstrom, Michigan Technological University, and Gary G. Li, OMM, Inc. Micromachined Pressure Sensors, Jae-Sung Park, Chester Wilson, and Yogesh B. Gianchandani, University of Wisconsin-Madison Sensors and Actuators for Turbulent Flows. Lennart Loefdahl, Chalmers University of Technology, and Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, University of Notre Dame Surface-Micromachined Mechanisms, Andrew D. Oliver and David W. Plummer, Sandia National Laboratories Microrobotics Thorbjoern Ebefors and Goeran Stemme, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden Microscale Vacuum Pumps, E. Phillip Muntz, University of Southern California, and Stephen E. Vargo, SiWave, Inc. Microdroplet Generators. Fan-Gang Tseng, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan Micro Heat Pipes and Micro Heat Spreaders, G. P. "Bud" Peterson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Microchannel Heat Sinks, Yitshak Zohar, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Flow Control, Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, University of Notre Dame) Part IV: The Future Reactive Control for Skin-Friction Reduction, Haecheon Choi, Seoul National University Towards MEMS Autonomous Control of Free-Shear Flows, Ahmed Naguib, Michigan State University Fabrication Technologies for Nanoelectromechanical Systems, Gary H. Bernstein, Holly V. Goodson, and Gregory L. Snider, University of Notre Dame Index

The MEMS Handbook

Rapid and accurate measurement of biomarkers in tissue and fluid samples is a major challenge in medicine. Here we report the development of a new, miniaturized diagnostic magnetic resonance (DMR) system for multiplexed, quantitative and rapid analysis. By using magnetic particles as a proximity sensor to amplify molecular interactions, the handheld DMR system can perform measurements on unprocessed biological samples. We show the capability of the DMR system by using it to detect bacteria with high sensitivity, identify small numbers of cells and analyze them on a molecular level in real time, and measure a series of protein biomarkers in parallel. The DMR technology shows promise as a robust and portable diagnostic device.

/pdf/chip-nmr-biosensor-for-detection-and-molecular-analysis-of-3h7yxudmsx.pdf

Chip–NMR biosensor for detection and molecular analysis of cells

Significant progress has been made recently in demonstrating that silicon photonics is a promising technology for low-cost optical detectors, modulators and light sources1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12. It has often been assumed, however, that their performance is inferior to InP-based devices. Although this is true in most cases, one of the exceptions is the area of avalanche photodetectors, where silicon's material properties allow for high gain with less excess noise than InP-based avalanche photodetectors and a theoretical sensitivity improvement of 3 dB or more. Here, we report a monolithically grown germanium/silicon avalanche photodetector with a gain–bandwidth product of 340 GHz, a keff of 0.09 and a sensitivity of −28 dB m at 10 Gb s−1. This is the highest reported gain–bandwidth product for any avalanche photodetector operating at 1,300 nm and a sensitivity that is equivalent to mature, commercially available III–V compound avalanche photodetectors. This work paves the way for the future development of low-cost, CMOS-based germanium/silicon avalanche photodetectors operating at data rates of 40 Gb s−1 or higher. A monolithically grown Ge/Si avalanche photodetectors (APD) with a gain–bandwidth product of 340 GHz, the highest value for any APDs operating at 1,300 nm, and a sensitivity equivalent to commercially available III-V compound APDs is reported. The excellent performance paves the way to achieving low-cost, CMOS-based, Ge/Si APDs operating at data rates of 40 Gb s−1 or higher, where the performance of III-V APDs is severely limited.

https://www.nature.com/articles/nphoton.2008.247.pdf?proof=t

Monolithic germanium/silicon avalanche photodiodes with 340 GHz gain-bandwidth product

Planar microcoil-based microfluidic NMR probes.

A two-dimensional (2-D) array (4 by 8) of single-photon avalanche diodes integrated in an industrial complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process is presented. Each pixel combines a photodiode biased above its breakdown voltage in the so-called Geiger mode, a quenching resistor, and a simple comparator. The pitch between the pixels is 75 /spl mu/m and the diameter of each pixel is 6.4 /spl mu/m. The full integration allows reducing the number of charge carriers in a Geiger pulse. The electroluminescence responsible for optical crosstalks between pixels is then reduced leading to a negligible optical crosstalk probability. Thanks to the cleanness of the fabrication process, no afterpulsing effects are noticed. At room temperature, most of the pixels exhibit a dark-count rate of about 50 Hz. The detection probability is almost identical for all 32 pixels of the array with relative variation in the range of a few percents. This letter demonstrates the feasibility of an array of single-photon detectors sensitive in the visible part of the spectrum. Besides low production costs and compactness, an undeniable benefit lies in the potential to easily modify the design to fit a specific application. Furthermore, the CMOS integration opens the way to on-chip data processing.

First fully integrated 2-D array of single-photon detectors in standard CMOS technology

Based on a 2D-array of 16 cylindrical Hall sensors and a permanent magnet, a tracking system with five degrees of freedom is analysed in this paper. The system accuracy is studied, including offset drifts, sensitivity mismatches and the number of sensors. A detection distance as large as 14 cm (during 1 h without calibration) is achieved using a magnet of 0.2 cm3. The position and orientation of the marker is displayed in real time with a sampling frequency up to 50 Hz. The sensing system is small enough to be hand-held and can be used in a normal environment.

Tracking system with five degrees of freedom using a 2D-array of Hall sensors and a permanent magnet

We present the design, fabrication and test of high-Q factor radiofrequency planar microcoils for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in small volume samples. The coils are fabricated on glass wafers using high-aspect ratio SU-8 photoepoxy and copper electroplating. On-wafer electrical characterization shows quality factors up to 40 at 800 MHz. A 500 μm diameter microcoil with a measured quality factor of 24 at 300 MHz is mounted on a printed circuit board and electrically contacted using aluminum wire bonding. This probe is inserted in a 7 T-superconducting magnet, and a 1H-NMR spectrum of 160 nl ethylbenzene contained in a capillary placed over the microcoil is acquired in a single scan. This work is an important step towards the integration of NMR detection into micro-total analysis systems (μTAS).

High-Q factor RF planar microcoils for micro-scale NMR spectroscopy

The operation of magnetic-field sensors is based on many different physical principles ranging from induction to magneto-optical effects. This in turn leads to a vast range of possible magnetic sensor types. What will finally decide the commercial viability of a particular magnetic sensor is its performance as well as its compatibility with miniaturization and microelectronic circuits. The magnetic sensors with the most potential for future applications include: Hall devices, magnetoresistors, inductive coils and fluxgates. The Hall device, while very compatible with microelectronics, suffers from a limited sensitivity in silicon, a high level oof 1 F noise and a relatively large offset. Ferromagnetic magnetoresistors generally have a high sensitivity at a low field; associated problems are the flipping effect and hysteresis. Inductive coils find many applications in proximity and distance sensors, but the miniaturization of coils is difficult. The fluxgate is a highly sensitive magnetic sensor. In principle, it could be integrated, but the main challenges are the three-dimensional structure of the coils and the low magnetic permeability of integrated ferromagnetic cores. The performance of sensors can be considerably improved by incorporating them into a system and using synergistic relationships such as feedback and compensation. The future of magnetic sensor microsystems looks bright with many promising application areas.

P.-A. Besse

Papers

Planar microcoil-based microfluidic NMR probes.

First fully integrated 2-D array of single-photon detectors in standard CMOS technology

Tracking system with five degrees of freedom using a 2D-array of Hall sensors and a permanent magnet

High-Q factor RF planar microcoils for micro-scale NMR spectroscopy

The future of magnetic sensors