Abstract
The purpose of this article is to investigate the possibility to realize a fully integrated CMOS-Microfluidic device, the micro-fluidic channel being fabricated inside the CMOS chip, and passing underneath some micro-electrodes. The micro-channels are fabricated by isotropic deep-etching of silicon, which allows lateral etching, and then etching underneath the micro-electrodes. The electrodes are expected to be used for an all integrated system for electrical characterization of cells flowing underneath (flow impedance spectroscopy). This technology proposes an alternative to standard PDMS microfluidic channels which have limitations when applied to CMOS devices. Actually, these one have small size and have highly integrated pattern, making the alignment to the PDMS channel quite tricky. With the proposed technology, highly integrated device with micro-fluidics is obtainable, thanks to a submicron alignment precision. Moreover, it also gives possibilities of batch processing of integrated micro-fluidics on CMOS.
