Modeling LTCC-based Microchannels Using a Network Approach

Low temperature cofiring ceramic (LTCC) combines hybrid technology, biocompatibility, chemical resistance and ease of fabrication to serve as a construction material for microfluidics. Due to the lack of CAD tools for MEMS this paper applies a model for the description of stationary flow in LTCC channels of non circular cross sections. Sample devices for validation are fabricated by laser structuring and standard LTCC process. The substrates consist of 130 mum thick layers and are connected horizontally to a tubing system. Characteristic length scales range between 131 mum and 159 mum. Deviations stay within the assumed uncertainty and confirm the theory. Results show that applying solutions of geometry description in accepted fluid mechanics models gives an appropriate tool for flow description. Implementing the model as a network description in the describing language MOSILAB can allow dimensioning and optimization under functional restrictions, e.g. pressure drop or geometry as well as communication with other modeling tools