ABSTRACT
Integrated microsystems is an area of intense interest and has proven to be an arena, where different
fields (physical sciences, engineering, life sciences, medicine) can participate and provide their expertise
and unique contributions [1]. Microsystems can be thought of as a single platform having many
different functional components integrated together on the microscale, with the goal of miniaturizing
laboratory processes, such as concentration and sensing of analytes, which would normally require it to
be done on the macroscale. Figure 38.1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the conceptual
view of an integrated microsystem. The use of microfabrication techniques can result in microfluidic
devices and related sensors with very high sensitivity, in addition to reducing the total time to result for
chemical and biological analysis. The low cost due to batch fabrication and the reduction in the sample
size required for analysis due to miniaturized sensors are also very attractive.
