A novel technique for measuring pico-scale flow rate of a liquid solution using a microchannel

As micrototal analysis system (μ-TAS) becoming more extensively used, techniques for fabricating microchannels, microactuators, and measuring systems are becoming increasingly important. This study describes a novel method for fabricating a closed microchannel that can be used to measure the pico-scale flow rate of a liquid solution with an accuracy of better than 1 pL/s. The flow rate of 9 pL/s is calculated from the measurements. Without any high temperature or high-voltage processing, the microchannel can be integrated in the complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) microfluidic system and the fabricating process involves only some standard CMOS processes and common materials. The batch fabrication of a single integrated circuit (IC) chip is essential to reaching the goal of a system in one chip.