ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on cost-effective testing methodologies for droplet-based microfluidic systems. It presents a list of likely defects in such systems and classify them as catastrophic and parametric faults. The chapter presents a novel fault detection mechanism for both catastrophic and parametric faults. Fault detection is based on tracking droplet movement through the portions of the system. It can be implemented without disrupting the normal mode of operation. The chapter also presents tolerance analysis based on Monte Carlo simulation to characterize the impact of variations in physical and fluidic parameters on the system performance. Direct measurement of droplet velocity requires experimental methods such as video frame counting and capacitive sensing. Upper-bound testing differs from lower-bound testing in the sense that the fault-free case is represented by the failure of a droplet to catch up with the pulse frequency. A tolerance analysis method based on Monte Carlo simulation has been developed to characterize the impact of parameter variations on system performance.
