Microfluidic chips, with their characteristics of integrated miniaturization and automation, low contamination, minimal sample/reagent consumption, and high throughput, hold broad application prospects in fields such as biomedicine, chemistry, and materials science. Among these, applications in biomedical healthcare are predominant. With the continuous advancement of science and technology and the increasing demands of healthcare, microfluidic technology will continue to drive innovation and breakthroughs in biology, medicine, materials, and other fields.

I. Overview of Microfluidic Chips

Microfluidics is a technology that manipulates fluids at the micrometer scale. A microfluidic chip is a device that integrates microchannels, micropumps, microvalves, and other components at the micrometer scale to achieve precise control and mixing of liquids. Microfluidic chips are primarily composed of microchannels, micropumps, microvalves, inlets, detectors, and microcontrollers.

II. Types of Microfluidic Chips

Currently, with the continuous development and evolution of microfluidic technology, the variety of microfluidic chips is also increasing. Based on the materials used for fabrication, microfluidic chips can be classified into different types:

Polymer-based microfluidic chips (e.g., PDMS)

Silicon-based microfluidic chips

Injection-molded microfluidic chips

Glass-based microfluidic chips

Paper-based microfluidic chips

Digital microfluidic chip

III. Industry Applications of Microfluidic Chips

Microfluidic technology is widely used in biomedicine, chemistry, materials science, environmental science, aerospace, and other fields. Specifically:

In Bioengineering, microfluidic chip applications include gene sequencing, protein analysis, cell culture, etc. They are also used in practical medical and healthcare applications such as emergency screening, disease diagnosis, drug screening, and tumor detection.

In Chemistry, microfluidic chips can be used for chemical reactions, separation analysis, and sample preparation.

In Materials Science, microfluidic chips can be employed for the preparation and characterization of nanomaterials.

In Environmental Science, microfluidic chips can be applied to water quality monitoring and pollution detection.

IV. Measurement Requirements for Microfluidic Chips

The surface roughness, height, width, and air layer thickness of a microfluidic chip significantly impact the flow rate of reagents, reaction rate, reaction completeness, etc. A high-performance microchannel should enable reactions to occur rapidly, accurately, and completely.

Surface Roughness: Typically refers to the surface roughness of the microchannels within the chip. It has a crucial impact on the flow rate of liquid samples and reaction reagents, as well as reaction efficiency. Surface roughness measurement allows for improvements in reaction rates and product performance.

Height & Width: Typically refer to the height and width of the microchannels. These dimensions greatly influence the flow velocity, temperature, and pressure of fluids within the microchannels. Therefore, fluid control can be achieved through the design of microchannel height and width. Some types of microfluidic chips have specific requirements for height and width; for example, the height and width of a droplet chip determine the size of the generated microspheres, and the height and width of an organ chip determine whether specific cells or tissues can pass through the microchannel structure.

Air Layer Thickness (Casing Thickness): The thickness of the air layer within a microfluidic chip significantly affects the pressure, temperature, flow rate, and reaction rate of the reaction solution within the microchannels. High-precision measurement of the air layer thickness is essential for precisely controlling product performance and reducing customer complaints.

V. Microfluidic Chip Measurement Case Studies

Air Layer Thickness Measurement:

Recently, a biomedical materials company sought to measure the air layer thickness within their microfluidic chips to improve product performance, enhance reaction rates, and optimize reagent flow rates, requiring an accuracy of 1 nm. Based on the client's requirements, Atometrics engineers selected the AF-3000 Series Film Thickness Measurement Instrument for the analysis:

Upon receiving the measurement report, the client expressed high satisfaction with the film thickness measurement instrument’s measurement speed, accuracy, and results, stating that the instrument contributes significantly to advancing medical microfluidic technology.

Microfluidic Surface Roughness, Microchannel Height and Width Measurement:

Atometrics recently received a measurement request from Shanghai Pengzan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., a renowned domestic microfluidic technology company. Aiming to enhance the quality of their microfluidic products and precisely control factors like reaction efficiency, reagent mixing degree, and liquid flow rate within their chips, they needed to measure the surface roughness as well as the height and width of their microchannels.

Atometrics engineers recommended and performed the measurements using the White Light Interferometer AM-7000 Series. The client remarked: "Previously, we measured microchannel height by sectioning the chip and observing it under an optical microscope. The results were highly inaccurate, which was detrimental to controlling our microfluidic product performance. With Atometrics's White Light Interferometer, we have easily solved this challenge!"

Below is part of the test feedback report for samples provided by Shanghai Pengzan Biotechnology Co., Ltd.:

Sample 1:

Sample 2:

Sample 3:

Atometrics sincerely thanks Shanghai Pengzan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. for their post-sales feedback and instrument usage comments! Atometrics looks forward to Shanghai Pengzan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. developing a wider variety of higher-performance microfluidic products, making even greater contributions to the domestic microfluidics field and to biomedicine, materials chemistry, and related sectors!

We hope Atometrics can help more enterprises, universities, and research institutes solve their measurement challenges!