Optical MEMS-Based Sensor Development with Applications to Microfluidics

Despite challenges associated with development and fabrication, meso-scale and MEMS devices offer many advantages such as small size and lighter weight for space applications, higher reliability, smaller and better controlled sampling volumes in particular for biological diagnostics. Traditional optical diagnostics have been used to determine parameters such as velocity, concentration, particle size and temperature in laboratory-scale and full scale flow systems over the past three decades. A great deal of efforts has been invested in these diagnostics techniques, but the size ofMEMSprohibits the use of these traditional diagnostics. Spatial resolution, vibrations, and optical accessibility make traditional optical setups difficult to use for microfluidics.