The Improvement of Temperature Uniformity for Polymerase Chain Reaction Chip with a Micro-hotplate (Nickel)

For PCR applications, a uniform temperature field inside the micro-reactor is crucial. The ANSYS6.0 software is applied to simulate two layouts on temperature spreader with a higher thermal conductivity nickel layer deposited under the micro-reactor for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) chip in the steady temperature distribution. First of all, the equivalent resistivity of the micro-resistor-heater is evaluated, and an agreement result is then verified by comparing with the experimental result of a prototype PCR chip. Secondly, the temperature distribution at 95 degC in the PCR chip contained the DNA sample is investigated, and further a temperature spreader is inserted into the PCR chip to reduce the temperature difference in DNA sample and thus improve the temperature uniformity in the DNA sample effectively