Semiconductor technology is becoming increasingly important in global healthcare enabling novel understanding, discovery and treatment of disease to make healthcare more affordable and efficient, both in and out of the clinic.
With the global healthcare industry being valued at US $1.65 trillion in 2016 and expected to reach US $2.69 trillion by 20251, it is an important growing industry. Key drivers behind this ongoing market growth are growing and aging populations, over urbanization, rising disease prevalence all of which are putting further strain on our healthcare systems which are already grappling with issues relating to access, quality, and cost. Convergence of technology from the seemingly disparate fields of semiconductor device processing, life sciences are fast revolutionising healthcare and medical research by enabling quick and accurate diagnosis. This in turn is increasing the speed and efficiency of treatment for various conditions as well as biomedical research and development. Biomedical device processing
Biomedical devices are a class of miniaturized electronic devices that are assembled by integration of microfluidics, active sensors/transducers and the supporting signal processing electronics.
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Figure 1. Major processing requirements for biomedical device fabrication
The similarity of fabrication techniques for this class of devices to those of microelectronics not only allows researchers and engineers to leverage decades of microelectronics processing experience but also provides a rapid route to scale up for new technologies. The very first integrated devices were fabricated on silicon (Si) substrates followed by glass (SiO2) which brought some advantages. Today’s devices are hybrids that combine glass, silicon and various polymers like acrylic, resists, thermoplastics and several other novel nano-electronic and photonic materials. Semiconductor fabrication techniques provide the required economies of scale to make this technology cost effective, maintaining precision and continued miniaturization and creating devices that remain functional over long term use.
This white paper is the first of four aimed at giving an overview of various semiconductor processing technologies, their advantages and challenges for fabrication of such biomedical devices. This edition is focussed on dry processing solutions for fabrication of microfluidic components.
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This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology.
For more information on this source, please visit Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology.