Joseph L.B., Veedu V., Garmire D.
Oceanit and University of Hawaii, US
Keywords: carbon nanotubes, lab-on-a-chip, MEMS
Lab-on-a-chip devices have the potential to provide point-of-care diagnostics that can save many thousands of lives per year. One of the primary limitations to wide-spread adoption of lab-on-a-chips is the excessive cost of fabrication and integration in high-volume production of these systems. In this paper, we describe a relatively inexpensive, high-volume technique of fabricating well defined patterns of vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays (VANTAs) using a standard MEMS process, PolyMUMPs, and a single chemical vapor deposition (CVD) step for nanotube growth. VANTA sensor test structures have been fabricated showing vertical growth over 300 microns, minimum wall width under 20 microns, and high conformance to the defined pattern. In the near future these VANTA sensors will be integrated into a single die lab-on-a-chip that includes silicon-based microfluidics. The VANTA sensor test structures fabricated varied device and process parameters to observe differences in VANTA growth patterns. In this paper, the VANTA sensor structures will be geometrically and electrically characterized, and the specific process parameters which influence the VANTA characteristics will be evaluated in detail to determine how future devices can be further integrated into a lab-on-a-chip.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 2, Nanotechnology 2009: Life Sciences, Medicine, Diagnostics, Bio Materials and Composites
Published: May 3, 2009
Pages: 193 - 196
Industry sectors: Medical & Biotech | Sensors, MEMS, Electronics
Topics: Chemical, Physical & Bio-Sensors, Diagnostics & Bioimaging
ISBN: 978-1-4398-1783-4