METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SENSING A PROPERTY OF A FLUID

• US 20130193003A1
• Filed: 08/06/2010
• Published: 08/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DNAE Group Holdings Limited (Genting Bhd.)
• Original Assignee: DNA Electronics Limited (Genting Malaysia Berhad)
• Inventors: Reed, Sam, Constandinou, Timothy G., Georgiou, Pantelakis
• Granted Patent: US 8,986,525 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 205/775
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/12 Specific details about manufacturing devices
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/023 Sending and receiving of information, e.g. using bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0636 Integrated biosensor, microarrays
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0645 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0654 Lenses; Optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0816 Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0887 Laminated structure
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/5027 by integrated microfluidic structures, i.e. dimensions of channels and chambers are such that surface tension forces are important, e.g. lab-on-a-chip B01L3/5023 takes precedence; micromixers B01F33/30; microreactors for synthesis B01J19/0093; microcapillary devices in general B81B1/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502707 characterised by the manufacture of the container or its components by shaping or joining plastic parts B29C59/00, B29C65/00; by laminating B32B37/00; manufacture of microstructural devices in general B81C
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502715 characterised by interfacing components, e.g. fluidic, electrical, optical or mechanical interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/30 the beams of light being detected by photocells
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/227 Sensors changing capacitance upon adsorption or absorption of fluid components, e.g. electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor sensors, MOS capacitors G01N27/225 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/4148 Integrated circuits therefor, e.g. fabricated by CMOS processing CMOS processing per se H01L21/82
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48465 the other connecting portion not on the bonding area being a wedge bond, i.e. ball-to-wedge, regular stitch
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/73265 Layer and wire connectors

Abstract

A device for sensing a property of a fluid comprising a first substrate having formed thereon a sensor configured in use to come into contact with a fluid in order to sense a property of the fluid, and a wireless transmitter for transmitting data over a wireless data link and a second substrate having formed thereon a wireless receiver for receiving data transmitted over said wireless link by said wireless transmitter. The first substrate is fixed to or within said second substrate. Additionally or alternatively, the device comprises a first substrate defining one or more microfluidic structures for receiving a fluid to be sensed and a second substrate comprising or having attached thereto a multiplicity of fluid sensors, the number of sensors being greater than the number of microfluidic structures. The second substrate is in contact with the first substrate such that at least one of the sensors is aligned with the or each microfluidic structure so as to provide an active sensor for the or each structure, and such that one or more of the sensors is or are not aligned with any microfluidic structure and is or are thereby redundant.

Claims

1-28. -28. (canceled)

29. A device for sensing a property of a fluid, the device comprising:

(i) a first substrate having formed thereon a sensor configured in use to come into contact with a fluid in order to sense a property of the fluid, and a wireless transmitter for transmitting data over a wireless data link and

(ii) a second substrate having formed thereon a wireless receiver for receiving data transmitted over said wireless link by said wireless transmitter;

wherein said first substrate is fixed to or within said second substrate.

30. The device of claim 29, said first substrate comprising a transducer for transducing received electromagnetic radiation to provide electrical energy for powering components of the first substrate.

31. The device of claim 29, said first substrate being bonded to said second substrate, preferably using an adhesive.

32. The device of claim 29, wherein said first substrate is a semiconductor die comprising integrated circuits which at least in part provide said sensor and said wireless transmitter.

33. The device of claim 29, wherein said second substrate comprises a multi-layer printed circuit board.

34. The device of claim 29, wherein there are no bond wires connecting the first substrate to the second substrate.

35. The device of claim 29, wherein the first substrate has further formed thereon a wireless receiver for receiving data transmitted by a transmitter formed on the second substrate.

36. The device of claim 29, wherein the wireless data link is provided using one of far field transmission, near field transmission, optoelectric transmission, or transmission through the fluid using voltage modulated by an electrode integrated with the first substrate.

37. The device of claim 29 and comprising a microfluidic structure for locating said fluid onto a sensing surface of said sensor.

38. The device of claim 37, wherein said microfluidic structure is formed by a third substrate bonded to one or both of said first and second substrates.

39. The device of claim 29, further comprising a plurality of said first substrates and a plurality of microfluidic structures for locating said fluid onto a sensing surface of each sensor, each first substrate arranged to wirelessly communicate with the receiver on said second substrate.

40. A method of operating a device of claim 29, the method comprising:

(a) providing a fluid in contact with the sensor,

(b) sensing a property of the fluid using the sensor, and

(c) wirelessly transmitting the sensed or processed sensed data using the transmitter.

41. The method according to claim 41, further comprising depositing a micro-volume of a fluid sample to a substrate comprising the microfluidic structure.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein the data is transmitted substantially continuously.

43. The method according to claim 41, further comprising receiving a request signal at the first substrate and transmitting data from the first substrate in response to the request signal.

44. The method according to claim 43, wherein the request signal identifies the data, first substrate, and/or sensor from which data is requested.

45. A method of fabricating a microfluidic sensor device comprising:

(a) providing a first substrate defining a plurality of microfluidic structures for receiving a fluid to be sensed;

(b) providing a second substrate comprising or having attached thereto a multiplicity of fluid sensors, the number of sensors being greater than the number of microfluidic structures; and

(c) fixing the first and second substrates together such that at least one of the sensors is aligned with each microfluidic structure so as to provide an active sensor for each structure, and such that one or more of the sensors is or are not aligned with any microfluidic structure and is or are thereby redundant.

46. The method according to claim 45, wherein misalignment of the first substrate to the second substrate by an amount equal to one sensor pitch from a centre alignment position still results in at least one sensor aligned within each microfluidic structure.

47. The method according to claim 45, wherein misalignment of the first substrate to the second substrate by an amount greater or equal to one channel pitch still results in at least one sensor aligned within each microfluidic structure.

48. The method according to claim 45, wherein the fluid is a biological or chemical sample to be monitored or detected.

56. A method of configuring a device of claim 48, the method comprising:

(a) detecting a first signal corresponding to a first sensor and

(b) determining which sensors are exposed to which microfluidic structure using the first signal and knowledge of a property of the fluid of at least one microfluidic structure or knowledge of the spatial relationship among the sensors.

57. The method according to claim 56, further comprising the step of processing the first signal before proceeding to (b) by comparing the first signal to a predetermined value or to a second signal corresponding to a second sensor.

58. The method according to claim 56, further comprising altering the property of the fluid in one or more microfluidic structure.

59. The method according to claim 58, wherein the property of the fluid in each microfluidic structure is altered one microfluidic structure at a time.

60. The method according to claim 56, further comprising performing (a) and (b) for a plurality of the sensors.

61. The method according to claim 60, wherein (a) and (b) are first performed with a sensor located at an extreme of a sensor array, then repeated with sensors that are located progressively inwards.

62. The method according to claim 56, further comprising the step of determining which sensors are not exposed to a microfluidic structure.

63. The method according to claim 56, further comprising creating a look up table identifying which sensors correspond to which microfluidic structures as a result of (b).

64. A configuration apparatus for configuring a device of claim 48, the apparatus comprising:

(i) a receiver for detecting a first signal corresponding to a first sensor and

(ii) means for determining which sensors are exposed to which microfluidic structure using knowledge of a property of the fluid in at least one of the microfluidic structures or knowledge of the spatial relationship among the sensors.

65. The configuration apparatus of claim 62, further comprising means for altering the property of the fluid in at least one microfluidic structure.

66. The configuration apparatus of claim 65, further comprising a memory for storing a result of (ii).

49. A device comprising:

(i) a first substrate defining a plurality of microfluidic structures for receiving a fluid to be sensed and

(ii) a second substrate comprising or having attached thereto a multiplicity of fluid sensors, the number of sensors being greater than the number of microfluidic structures;

wherein the second substrate is in contact with the first substrate such that at least one of the sensors is aligned with each microfluidic structure so as to provide an active sensor for each structure, and such that one or more of the sensors is or are not aligned with any microfluidic structure and is or are thereby redundant.

50. The device of claim 49, wherein a distance between adjacent sensors is less than a width of each microfluidic structure.

51. The device of claim 49, wherein the spatial density of sensors is greater than the spatial density of microfluidic structures.

52. The device of claim 49, wherein the sensors are arranged as an array of sensors and the microfluidic structures are arranged as an array of microfluidic structures.

53. The device of claim 52, wherein a width of the sensor array is wider than a width of the microfluidic structure array.

54. The device of claim 52, wherein a pitch of the microfluidic structure array is at least twice a pitch of the sensors array.

55. The device of claim 52, wherein a pitch of the sensor array is less than the width of the microfluidic structure.