Monolithically integrated micro flow sensor for lab-on-chip applications

A monolithically integrated micro flow sensor (MFS) for lab-on-chip application is presented. The MFS utilizes a miniaturized adaption of the anemometric principle. The combination of an established detection principle with the benefits of microtechnology results in a sensor with very high sensitivity. The temperature distribution in the microfluidic channel is simulated and compared with experimental results. The experimental investigation confirms that the micro MFS is able to detect flow rates as low as 10 nl/min.