Design and Evaluation of a CMOS Contact-Imaging System for Microfluidics

A CMOS contact-imaging system for microfluidics is presented. The microsystem integrates a five-layer PDMS microfluidic network and a CMOS image sensor fabricated in a standard 0.18 ïm technology. The CMOS image sensor consists of two 10×1-pixel array, an amplifier, and a control logic. The imager is able to achieve a low dark signal of 1.67 mV/s, a maximum integration time of 514 s, and a high dynamic range of 75.2 dB at 1 s integration time. The microfluidic device integrates several actuated valve to achieve a fully automated lab-on-a-chip. This work also presents a quantitative comparison of the photomultiplier tube (PMT) and the CMOS contact-imaging system. The CMOS-microfluidic device is validated using an on-chip chemiluminescent analyte.