Electro-magnetic sensing and actuation array on silicon substrate platforms

Electromagnetic arrays can be precisely constructed on silicon CMOS technology as a platform for collective non-contact sensing and manipulation of magnetic or magnetized particles of micron to nano scale. Such platforms become a tool to interact with nano scale particles on the silicon substrate and enable direct interface to measurement and computing devices. This paper overviews current efforts along this direction and presents an example design of a platform for sensing and manipulating magnetized beads on its surface using standard silicon CMOS technology. The vision is that such arrays can be easily commanded in nano seconds to realize magnetic field profiles in order to steer magnetized material in the proximity of the platform. Moreover, as technology features decrease, the size of the electromagnetic coil cells in the array would also decrease to nano scale, sharpening the sensing and manipulation resolution of the platforms.