Electrical study of microfluidic channels isolated with chemically modified porous silicon

This paper deals with On-Chip-Electrophoresis separation systems micromachined on porous silicon. The electrical insulation properties of the porous substrates were analyzed and related to physical and chemical treatments such as thermal oxidation and silanisation. From this preliminary study, microfluidic devices including silanized porous silicon layers were realized. Finally, ANSYS 3D-Finite Element Modelling of a microfluidic device was performed using experimental data from the electrical measurements. The geometrical and electrical limitations were then discussed. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)