MICROFLUIDIC DEVICES WITH INTEGRATED RESISTIVE HEATER ELECTRODES INCLUDING SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING AND MEASURING THE TEMPERATURES OF SUCH HEATER ELECTRODES
First Claim
1. A method for determining the temperature of each of a plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes, wherein the heater electrodes are part of a multiplex circuit sharing a common lead connecting the electrodes to a power supply, said method comprising the steps of:
- a. for each heater electrode in said plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes;
(1) connecting the power supply to a set of two or more other heater electrodes, and(2) measuring a voltage drop at said heater electrode, wherein the voltage drop is based on the equivalent resistance of a parallel combination of the set of said other heater electrodes in series with said heater electrode;
b. computing a resistance of each of the plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes by solving for the resistance of each heater electrode based at least in part on the measured voltage drops; and
c. deriving the temperature of each of the plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes from the computed resistance of each electrode.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to methods and devices for control of an integrated thin-film device with a plurality of microfluidic channels. In one embodiment, a microfluidic device is provided that includes a microfluidic chip having a plurality of microfluidic channels and a plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes, wherein the heater electrodes are part of a multiplex circuit including a common lead connecting the heater electrodes to a power supply, each of the heater electrodes being associated with one of the microfluidic channels. The microfluidic device also includes a control system configured to regulate power applied to each heater electrode by varying a duty cycle, the control system being further configured to determine the temperature of each heater electrode by determining the resistance of each heater electrode.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for determining the temperature of each of a plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes, wherein the heater electrodes are part of a multiplex circuit sharing a common lead connecting the electrodes to a power supply, said method comprising the steps of:
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a. for each heater electrode in said plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes; (1) connecting the power supply to a set of two or more other heater electrodes, and (2) measuring a voltage drop at said heater electrode, wherein the voltage drop is based on the equivalent resistance of a parallel combination of the set of said other heater electrodes in series with said heater electrode; b. computing a resistance of each of the plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes by solving for the resistance of each heater electrode based at least in part on the measured voltage drops; and c. deriving the temperature of each of the plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes from the computed resistance of each electrode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A microfluidic device for performing biological reactions comprising:
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a. a microfluidic chip having a plurality of microfluidic channels and a plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes, wherein the heater electrodes are part of a multiplex circuit including a common lead connecting the heater electrodes to a power supply, each of the heater electrodes being associated with one of the microfluidic channels; b. switching elements associated with each heater electrode; and c. a control system configured to; regulate power applied to each heater electrode by varying a duty cycle, control the switching elements to selectively connect the power supply to a subset of two or more of the heater electrodes to facilitate measurements of voltage drops across the subset of heater electrodes and another of the electrodes, and determine the temperature of each heater electrode by determining the resistance of each heater electrode.
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7. A method for determining a selected characteristic of at least one electronic component in a network of similar electronic components, comprising the steps of:
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a. generating N distinct partitions of the components, wherein N is equal to the number of components in the network, each partition divides the components into at least a source set and a drain set, and at least one of the source set and the drain set in each partition comprises two or more of the components; b. for each partition; (1) connecting a source voltage to each component in the source set, (2) connecting a drain voltage to each component in the drain set, and (3) measuring the equivalent selected characteristic of a circuit between the source voltage and the drain voltage, wherein the circuit comprises a parallel combination of each component in the source set in series with a parallel combination of each component in the drain set; and c. computing the selected characteristic of the at least one component based at least in part on the stored equivalent characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for performing closed-loop thermal control of a microfluidic device including a network of resistive heater electrodes, comprising:
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a. providing a pulse width modulated power source to the resistive heater electrodes; b. generating N distinct partitions of the resistive heater electrodes, wherein N is equal to the number of resistive heater electrodes in the network, each partition divides the resistive heater electrodes into at least a source set and a drain set, and at least one of the source set and the drain set in each partition comprises two or more of the resistive heater electrodes; c. for each partition; (1) connecting a source voltage to each resistive heater electrode in the source set, (2) connecting a drain voltage to each resistive heater electrode in the drain set, and (3) measuring the equivalent resistance of a circuit between the source voltage and the drain voltage, wherein the circuit comprises a parallel combination of each resistive heater electrode in the source set in series with a parallel combination of each resistive heater electrode in the drain set; d. computing the resistances of the resistive heater electrodes based at least in part on the stored equivalent characteristics; and e. adjusting the duty cycle of the pulse width modulated power based at least in part on the resistances of the resistive heater electrodes.
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20. A method for performing closed-loop thermal control of a microfluidic device including a network of resistive heater electrodes, comprising:
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a. providing an amplitude modulated power source to the resistive heater electrodes; b. generating N distinct partitions of the resistive heater electrodes, wherein N is equal to the number of resistive heater electrodes in the network, each partition divides the resistive heater electrodes into at least a source set and a drain set, and at least one of the source set and the drain set in each partition comprises two or more of the resistive heater electrodes; c. for each partition; (1) connecting a source voltage to each resistive heater electrode in the source set, (2) connecting a drain voltage to each resistive heater electrode in the drain set, and (3) measuring the equivalent resistance of a circuit between the source voltage and the drain voltage, wherein the circuit comprises a parallel combination of each resistive heater electrode in the source set in series with a parallel combination of each resistive heater electrode in the drain set; d. computing the resistances of the resistive heater electrodes based at least in part on the stored equivalent characteristics; and e. adjusting the duty cycle of the amplitude modulated power based at least in part on the resistances of the resistive heater electrodes.
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Specification