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February 21st, 2007

Microfluidics—The Birth of an Industry

Abstract:
Fluidic self-assembly (FSA) is an exciting new method for manufacturing microscopic assemblies, including integration of electronic, mechanical, and optical devices on silicon, or of silicon electronic chips onto plastic or other substrates. The process works automatically, using random fluidic transport, allowing the placement of very large numbers of devices in minutes. Particles suspended in a fluid will automatically self-assemble into mating cavities in the substrate. It is noteworthy that the process is in many ways analogous to protein mediated biological processes such as antigen-antibody interactions. The prospect of FSA on a nanometer scale is yet another example of the convergence between nanotechnology and biotechnology. As device dimensions shrink, the biochemical principles of diffusion limited molecular interactions will be as important as the engineering concepts and mechanical assembly.

Source:
rdmag.com

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