A biochemical microdevice with an integrated chemiluminescence detector

By taking advantage of both the semiconductor properties and the advanced micromachining possibilities of silicon, integration of back-side photodiodes with a microfluidic channel network on a single substrate is accomplished. The resulting microsystem has all fluidic and electrical connections on one side of the chip. Hermetic sealing by anodic bonding is greatly facilitated by the simple topography on the front-side of the chip. To test the chemical functionality and performance of the device a chemiluminescence-based detection scheme is implemented. The introduction and control of the necessary chemical solutions is achieved using a flow injection analysis approach. Hydrogen peroxide is used as a model compound; injected plugs with concentrations in the range of 100 μM to 1 mM are successfully detected.