Facility fro rapid prototyping of micro-fluidic devices

该提案描述了使科学家和工程师能够制造具有微米级表面特征和通道的小规模器件的设备。这些设备包括化学采样芯片和微电子冷却设备。鉴于大多数现代电子和化学取样和分析设备的空间限制，基于微流体的技术正变得越来越普遍。 微流控装置允许以高效率和小样品尺寸现场分离和分析复杂样品。 这些装置可应用于环境监测、生物医学筛选或需要快速检测特定分析物或分析物类别的任何情况。用于微芯片的热控制的原位冷却装置还利用微流体流动网络来排热。适当的热控制是必不可少的，如果一个电子设备是按预期的功能。在没有器件级冷却的情况下，芯片运行温度更高，更容易出现温度引起的错误。本提案中描述的无掩模图案化系统将允许在广泛的材料（从塑料到金属）中创建微流体器件，并具有广泛的通道尺寸和几何形状。 这允许仔细研究控制微流体装置性能的各种物理参数，从而导致设计的极大改进。所要求的设备是一个新的系统，它消除了两个步骤的过程，这是传统上更昂贵和耗时的原型生产。这项研究将有利于许多行业，如生物技术，能源和可持续系统，微电子，导致更有效和成本效益的解决方案。

This proposal describes equipment which enables scientists and engineers to fabricate small scale devices which have surface features and channels on the micro-meter scale. These devices include chemical sampling chips and micro-electronics cooling devices. Given the space limitations of most modern electronics and chemical sampling and analysis equipment, micro-fluidic based technologies are becoming more prevalent.  Micro-fluidic devices allow for on site separation and analysis of complex samples with high efficiency and small sample size.  These devices have applications in environmental monitoring, biomedical screening, or any situation where rapid detection of a particular analyte or class of analytes is required. In situ cooling devices for thermal control of micro-chips also utilize micro-fluidic flow networks for heat removal. Proper thermal control is essential if an electronic device is to function as intended. In the absence of device level cooling, chips run hotter, and are more prone to temperature induced errors.The Maskless Patterning System described in this proposal will allow for the creation of micro-fluidic devices in a wide range of materials (from plastics to metals) and with a wide range of channel sizes and geometries.  This allows for careful study of the various physical parameters which control micro-fluidic device performance, thus leading to great improvements in design. The requested equipment is a new system, which eliminates the need for a two step process, which is traditionally more expensive and time consuming when producing prototypes.This research will benefit many industries such as biotechnology, energy and sustainable systems, and micro-electronics, leading to more efficient and cost effective solutions.