BioMEMS FACILITIES

The BioMEMS Laboratory, which occupies an area of over 1250 sq. ft on the third floor of the Lerner Research Institute, is an established state-of-the-art facility optimized for biomedical MEMS research and development at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The resources available can be broadly classified into three main categories: Design, Fabrication, and Testing. In addition, laboratory members have access to the Electronics, Engineering, Prototype, and Polymer workshop facilities in the Department of Biomedical Engineering as well as the numerous Research Core Services of the Lerner Research Institute.

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Design

Advanced computer-aided design (CAD) software tools are available for the design of MEMS components and associated testing and packaging hardware. MEMS Pro is a suite of CAD tools that allows for design flow from schematic capture to system simulation, mask layout, and microstructure analysis (Figure 1). ANSYS Multiphysics is a simulation suite that is focused on the finite element analysis (FEA) of microstructures. Additional software includes MATLAB for numerical simulation and analysis (Figure 2), AutoCAD for technical drawings, and Pro/ENGINEER for 3D solid modeling.

Figure 1: Design of microneedles in L-Edit software, which is a part of MEMS Pro suite.

Figure 2: Analysis of ultrasound microtransducer performance using MATLAB.

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Fabrication

Various capabilities for back-end MEMS fabrication processes are supported including release for surface micromachining, bulk silicon etching using wet anisotropic etchants such as KOH (Figure 1), and a dicing saw (Disco model DAD321) for wafer dicing (Figure 2). Additional fabrication capabilities are accessible through the Microfabrication Laboratory (MFL) at Case Western Reserve University as well as MEMS Exchange.

Figure 1: Chemical fume hood with KOH bath and DI water rinse tank.

Figure 2: Dicing saw for sizing wafers into chips.

Equipment for soft lithography and fabrication of both 2D and 3D polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microstructures are available including a custom motion control jig for dual sided molding with an alignment tolerance of 10 um (Figure 3). Biomedical packaging capabilities include a parylene deposition system and monolayer coating ovens, and plasma surface modification tools. A STERIS steam sterilization unit is available for disinfection of MEMS components for pre-clinical investigations (Figure 4).

Figure 3: Mechanical jig for dual sided micromolding.

Figure 4: Autoclave for steam sterilization.

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Testing

A specially instrumented Karl Suss PM-5 probe station is available for IC and micro-sensor testing, electronic calibration, and micro-actuator characterization (Figure 1). A high resolution optical inspection system consisting of long working distance Mitutoyo microscope, Optronics megapixel CCD camera, multiscan SONY TV monitor, and a HiFi Super-VHS JVC videocassette recorder is connected to the probe station to enable viewing and recording (Figure 2). Associated electronic instrumentation include a Kronhite wideband power amplifier, Tektronix TD20A and HP 54600B oscilloscopes, Keithley 2000 multimeters, HP 33120A frequency generators, HP 5314A universal counter, HP 6205C high voltage dual power supply, 6209B HP high voltage single power supply, HP E3614A dc power supplies, and a Keithley LCZ meter. Also available are a high frequency strobe light, and HP 4395A and 4395B network analyzers, and a HP 87511 s-parameter test set; these tools allow us to investigate and analyze dynamic characteristics at the microscale.

Figure 1: Probe station for electromechanical characterization of microtransducers.

Figure 2: Visualization of a resonant microactuator.

Mechanical properties of thin film MEMS materials can be determined using a customized apparatus, which consists of a reflection-type optical microscope mounted with a Mirau interferometer attachment, a custom-built regulated pressure manifold, and LabVIEW-based data acquisition system (Figure 3). Investigations into micro/nanofluidic transport can be conducted using an automated flow diagnostics system, which is based on pneumatic pumping and gravimetric flow rate measurement down to 0.3 µl/min (Figure 4).

Figure 3: Load-deflection test station for determination of mechanical properties.

Figure 4: Flow characterization station for investigations into micro/nanofluidic transport.

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