CMOS Based Lab-on-a-Chip: Applications, Challenges and Future Trends

Lab-on-a-chip is a technology which changed the traditional way by which biological samples are inspected in laboratories during analyses. This technology promises many advantages including better and improved performance, portability, reliability and cost reduction. A Lab-on-a-chip is composed of three main parts; actuation, sensing and electronics. Typically, hybrid technologies are used for the three parts, representing difficulties in integration and increased cost. However, Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology allows the functional integration of all parts including sensors, signal conditioning and processing circuits using a single homogeneous technology to develop a fully integrated lab-on-a-chip. CMOS technology is a very well established mass production and cheap technology. Hence, any viable lab-on-a-chip based on CMOS technology will have direct commercial value and application. This article, therefore, focuses on a survey of the most common CMOS based lab-on-a-chip techniques. Also, this article presents and discusses the features of existing CMOS based lab-on-a-chips and their applications at the cell level. Moreover, this article covers the challenges and the future trends in CMOS based lab-on-a-chip technology.