LTCC based chip for monitoring in biological applications

The presented paper describes the technology of an low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) structure that enables monitoring in biological applications. The results are achieved by light absorbance measurements of liquid samples. The described ceramic structure contains buried microfluidic channels and two co-fired glass windows as well. The signal from three light emitting diodes (LEDs) – red, green and blue – can be used in the absorbance measurements. These three components are connected to the LTCC device through a light guide switch and a polymer optical fibre. Thanks to that it is possible to switch the stimulation wavelength in wide range of visible spectrum. The optical properties of the fabricated microfluidic LTCC system are investigated with several solutions of different concentrations of Rhodamine 6G in ethanol. The test results indicate very good stability during measurements. The measured light intensity was proportional to the concentrations of the test solutions.