Integrated microfluidic components on a printed wiring board platform

Advancements in printed wiring board (PWB) materials and processes have enabled the PWB to become an ideal low cost/high volume fabrication vehicle for integrated Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). It is especially applicable for single-use microfluidic devices with electrochemical detection sensors, since detection and signal processing can be integrated on a single low cost platform. To showcase the PWB as a platform for MEMS applications, a MEMS microfluidic system for DNA amplification and detection has been developed using PWB materials and processes. PWB, embedded passives (EP), and high-density interconnect (HDI) technologies have been utilized to fabricate these microfluidic structures following processes analogous to those for fabricating silicon MEMS. Several functional blocks, such as heating and sensing elements, together with electrical circuitries have been demonstrated.