1. FUNDAMENTALS AND APPLICATIONS OF
MICROFLUIDICS

2. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

3. MICROFLUIDICS – THE EMERGING
TECHNOLOGY
History of Microfluidics
1958 Jack Kilby & Robert Norton Noyce
(IC)
1959 Richard Feynman : “ There’s Plenty
of Room at the Bottom”
1960s microelectronic IC
1970s MEMS
1980s microflow sensor, microvalves,
micropumps
1990s microfluidics
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4. MICROFLUIDICS – THE EMERGING
TECHNOLOGY
What Is Microfluidics?
What does the micro refer to in
microfluidics? or is microfluidics
determined by the device size or the fluid
amount it can handle?
How small can a microscopic fluid quantity
be?
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5. MICROFLUIDICS – THE EMERGING
TECHNOLOGY
Device size or the fluid amount
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6. MICROFLUIDICS – THE EMERGING
TECHNOLOGY
Volume & concentration
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7. MICROFLUIDICS – THE EMERGING
TECHNOLOGY
Commercial & scientific aspects
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8. MICROFLUIDICS – THE EMERGING
TECHNOLOGY
Commercial aspects
Human Genome Project(HGP) by microfluidics
chip
Killer applications
 Single-use disposable microfluidic devices
 Medical diagnostics, Genetic sequencing, Chemistry
production, Drug discovery & proteomics
 High throughput by parallel analysis
Market : 2011(5.1B), 2012(5.6B), 2017(10.3B)
Scientific aspects
New applications in chemistry and bioengineering
 New effect, new chemical reactions, new microinstruments
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9. MILESTONES OF MICROFLUIDICS
Device development
Miniaturization : 1980s~mid-1990s
Power limit
Size limit
Exploration of new effects : mid-1990s
Electrokinetic
Surface tension
Electromagnetic
Acoustic streaming
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10. MILESTONES OF MICROFLUIDICS
Device development
Application development
Flow control
Chemical analysis
Biomedical diagnostics
Drug discovery
New applications
 Distributed energy supply
 Distributed thermal management
 Chemical production(micro-reactor)
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11. MILESTONES OF MICROFLUIDICS
Technology development
Before mid-1990s
Silicon micromachining (expensive cost)
 Integrated circuits → Transport electron
 Microfluidics → Transport molecules and fluids
After mid-1990s
Plastic micromachining (cheap cost)
 Stamp and mold
 Microcutting
 Laser machining
 Microelectro discharge machining
 Laminting
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