A comprehensive study and validation of high-throughput microscale electrode production using thermal transfer printing techniques

Adoption of Lab-on-Chip technology, which combines microfluidics with laboratory processes, is steadily increasing within the global health diagnostics field. An important element of this technology is the sensing and measurement capabilities of associated microelectronics. This thesis presents a critical analysis of the use of thermal transfer printing techniques for the manufacture of microscale electrical conductors used for biochemical assays- in this instance, cell lysate spectroscopy. This process affords advantages over traditional techniques such as chemical vapor deposition because of its compatibility with a variety of materials and ability to produce durable electrodes that can perform in the harsh environments that characterize many targeted areas where adequate access to laboratory diagnostic equipment is severely limited. Commercialization of the process to meet global demand is contingent upon the development of this process at its more rudimentary stages. This study attempts to validate the exponential scaling of this process, including qualification of manufacturing setup, optimization of operational parameters, and detailed analysis of full production runs. The maximization of sensitivity while simultaneously minimizing variation in electrode production presented the primary challenges of this work. It is concluded that a careful balance of process parameters can produce high quality, identical electrodes consistently at the thousands-level production throughput. A variation of only 2.2% in electrode sensitivity revealed that with the determined optimal process settings and in-line quality control, the success even further production scaling to better meet market demand is feasible.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Jain, Nikhil, M. Eng. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Brian W. Anthony.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78168

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/78168