Modeling, fabrication, and test of a CMOS integrated circuit platform for electrophoretic control of on-chip heterogeneous fluids: Toward particle separation on a custom CMOS chip

Electrophoresis is the migration of charged particles in a heterogeneous fluid under the influence of an electric field. This project is work toward an electrophoretic separation system on a custom CMOS chip. Modeling, fabrication, and testing of an AMI ABN 1.5 mum CMOS chip for this application is discussed. The unique approach is to build the entire system using conventional CMOS integrated circuit technology, such that the separation area is fabricated on the chip with integrated control and detection circuitry. To achieve the desired functionality, a novel configuration of an electrophoresis system is implemented. In this system, instead of using only one electrode at each end of the separation area, a multitude of electrodes beneath the entire separation area are utilized, enabling better control of high electric fields using very small voltages over small areas. Electronic circuits control the position and strength of the electric field to drive the separations and to simultaneously detect the location and concentration of samples within the separation area. Ultimately, the project was successful at showing that implementing an electrophoresis system on standard CMOS is possible.