Monolithic integration of fine cylindrical glass microcapillaries on silicon for electrophoretic separation of
Zhen Cao1, Kangning Ren, Hongkai Wu
1Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Abstract:
We demonstrate monolithic integration of fine cylindrical glass microcapillaries (diameter ∼1 μm) on silicon and evaluate their performance for electrophoretic separation of biomolecules. Such microcapillaries are achieved through thermal reflow of a glass layer on microstructured silicon whereby slender voids are moulded into cylindrical tubes. The process allows self-enclosed microcapillaries with a uniform profile. A simplified method is also described to integrate the microcapillaries with a sample-injection cross without the requirement of glass etching. The 10-mm-long microcapillaries sustain field intensities up to 90 kV/m and limit the temperature excursions due to Joule heating to a few degrees Celsius only.
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