Fourier microfluidics

Group delay induced instabilities and Hopf bifurcations, of a controlled double pendulum

An essential objective of a pulse transmission system is the preservation of some aspect of the pulse shape at the receiver. The phase characteristics of a system, which can generally be neglected in voice transmission, become important in pulse systems, since the shape of a pulse is influenced greatly by the phase of the energy components of the pulse spectrum. A quantity frequently used in describing this influence is the ?group delay? or ?envelope delay.? It is a measure of the relative phase shift experienced by neighboring components of the frequency spectrum and is equal to the slope of the tangent to the phase curve at any given frequency. If the phase shift changes linearly with frequency, the envelope delay is constant across the band, and there is no delay distortion. When the envelope delay varies with frequency, however, the shape of a pulse is degraded or distorted in transmission. This variational component of envelope delay will be called the delay distortion.

We proposed 3D heterogeneous opto-electronic integration technology for system-on-silicon (SOS). In order to realize 3D opto-electronic integrated system-on-silicon (SOS), we developed novel heterogeneous integration technology of LSI, MEMS and optoelectronic devices by implementing 3D heterogeneous opto-electronic multi-chip module composed with LSI, passives, MEMS and optoelectronic devices. The electrical interposer mounted with amplitude shift keying (ASK) LSI, LC filter and pressure-sensing MEMS chips and the optical interposer embedded with vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) and photodiode (PD) chips are precisely bonded to form 3D opto-electronic multi-chip module. Opto-electronic devices are electrically connected via through-silicon vias (TSVs) which were formed into the interposers. Micro-fluidic channels are formed into the interposer by wafer direct bonding technique. 3D heterogeneous opto-electronic multi-chip module is successfully implemented for the first time.

Patient delay commonly appears in breast cancer (BC), but the findings for influential factors may be contaminated by recall bias. The real factors in patient delay (divided into appraisal delay and utilization delay) for women with BC urgently need to be objectively analyzed for preventing the progression of this disease. Women meeting strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were asked to fill in a questionnaire, which included three sections of sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, and knowledge of BC. Later on, the outcomes were processed according to the verification of BC by pathological diagnosis. Then, multiple linear regression was conducted to analyze the potential factors of the delay and to explore their relations between these factors and BC. Appraisal delay is the leading component of patient delay. Appraisal delay's time distribution of a higher percentage at delay time 0-29 and >360 days, while other delay time occupies lower percentage, which is highly consistent with that of patient delay, while utilization delay mainly occurs in the 0-29 days period. Concerning the influential factors for the different phases of delay, age (P=0.051, P=0.035 separately in appraisal and patient delay), residential address (P=0.036, P=0.010) and symptom disclosure to others (P=0.015, P=0.015) led to a decrease of appraisal and patient delay. However, reasons for first medical consultation (P=0.033, P=0.006) and knowledge of BC (P=0.027, P=0.002) would accelerate appraisal and patient delay. Many factors related to hospitals, such as hospital category for first medical consultation (P=0.030) and examinations for first medical consultation (P=0.055) would reduce utilization delay. Obstacles in medical consultation for younger women should be removed, and early interventions are needed to avoid progression of BC.

Existing uniform fields are usually based on the special arrangement of the array antenna. The uniform fields generated by flat-top beam shaping in angular far-field area or by point focusing in near-field area are directly subject to the array configuration and cannot be flexibly controlled. This paper presents a method of generating uniform field based on the combination of angular spectral domain and improved time reversal technique. This method is not limited by the array arrangement. It can generate a uniform field of specified size, shape and deflection angle in the same array arrangement at any position, including the near-field region. In this work, the reason why this method is not limited by array arrangement is explained theoretically. Secondly, the ability of the fixed array configuration to generate multiple uniform fields is validated numerically. Finally, the time-reversal technique of reversal signal amplitude reciprocal weighting is introduced. The problem of deterioration of uniform field flatness, caused by amplitude decay and phase delay during the generation of uniform field, is solved through this technology. The results show that the quality of the synthesized field is related to the main lobe and sidelobe information of its corresponding angular spectrum domain envelope, and the generated any uniform field must contain at least half of the angular spectrum domain main lobe information and half of the sidelobe information. This method can flexibly control the position, size, shape and deflection angle of one-dimensional and two-dimensional uniform field, which provides a new way to flexibly generating uniform fields.

The development of innovative and reliable techniques for devices miniaturization are enabling the massive growth of lab on chip (LOC) applications. In this article, we briefly review the technological options for LOC microfabrication, then we present the optimization of a process for the realization of tridimensional multi-layered structures and buried channels in a microfluidic network using a photo-patternable dry film, with a potential for LOC manufacturing. The tuning of all the fabrication parameters is widely discussed and micrographs and optical profiler images are reported to show fabrication results. The fabrication process is used for a Split-flow-thin (SPLITT) fractionation cell configuration. SPLITT is a particle fractionation technique based on the combined effect of two laminar streams (the sample containing the particles and a carrier) flowing inside a thin microchannel and the action of a vertical driving force for particle displacement. Since the SPLITT implemented in this work is electrically driven, patterned electrodes (thickness: 100 nm) are also integrated in the flow cell walls. The functionality of the cell was tested first verifying the presence of proper flow conditions for microfluidic SPLITT (absence of mixing between the streams) and then proving electrical fractionation with two different proteins (BSA and β-lactoglobulin) at different levels of ionic strength. The flow of the streams within the microfluidic channel was also simulated by a numerical 2-D model exactly reproducing the cell geometry, with a good accordance with experimental results.

This paper outlines the process of modelling external electrooptic probes mounted on coplanar waveguides (CPW). The techniques used to describe the electromagnetic properties of the external probes are the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method and the finite difference transmission line method (FDTLM). These full wave techniques are time domain in nature that must be Fourier transformed to describe important frequency domain characteristics such as scattering parameters. The optical retardation of the probe is related to the full wave analysis through a commonly used grid size that results in a generalized basis for a complete electrooptic system analysis including a unique definition of an electrooptic transfer function,H(ω). Following the field simulation, the properties of the probe (invasiveness, retardation, signal distortion and group delay) are presented. Procedures for optimizing models for probe tips are discussed and related to a first-order model that has been developed. The results indicate that these probes can be simulated successfully on moderately sized Unix work stations and that the optimization of probe models must include the full wave simulation in the definition of the necessary gradients for the optimization process.

This paper discusses implications of digital flight control system design for rotorcraft and illustrates the analysis of the resulting handling qualities obtained with the Advanced Digital Optical Control System demonstrator in the context of the proposed new handling-qualities specification for rotorcraft. Topics covered are digital flight control design and analysis methods, flight testing techniques, handling-qualities evaluation results, and correlation of flight test results with analytical models and the proposed handling-qualities specification. The evaluation of the demonstrator system indicates desirable response characteristics based on equivalent damping and frequency, but undersirably large effective time delays (exceeding 240 ms in all axes). Piloted handling qualities are found to be desirable or adequate for all low, medium, and high pilot gain tasks, but handling qualities are inadequate for ultrahigh gain tasks such as slope and running landings. Correlation of these results with the proposed handling-qualities specification indicates good agreement for the bandwidth boundaries, but suggests the need for more stringent limits on allowable phase delay. Analytical models based on emulation (s-plane) techniques compare favorably with flight-extracted frequency-domain characteristics of the overall (end-to-end) system responses.

Plastic biochannel hybridization devices: a new concept for microfluidic DNA arrays

In order to overcome the problem of low accuracy and poor stability caused by the one-sided information blind separation analysis of the current communication channel interference suppression research methods, this paper proposes the optical communication network channel interference suppression method based on blind signal separation algorithm. The receiver unit, field programmable gate array (FPGA) unit, memory chip group and other modules are used to construct the channel signal acquisition system, and the collected signals are preprocessed by centralisation and whitening. Based on the signal preprocessing results, the blind separation of instantaneous linear mixed signals, blind separation of convolutional mixed signals and blind separation of sparse sources were comprehensively analysed to obtain the source signals and realise channel interference suppression of optical communication network. Experimental results show that this method has high interference precision, strong stability and good application prospect.

In order to overcome the problem of low accuracy and poor stability caused by the one-sided information blind separation analysis of the current communication channel interference suppression research methods, this paper proposes the optical communication network channel interference suppression method based on blind signal separation algorithm. The receiver unit, field programmable gate array (FPGA) unit, memory chip group and other modules are used to construct the channel signal acquisition system, and the collected signals are preprocessed by centralisation and whitening. Based on the signal preprocessing results, the blind separation of instantaneous linear mixed signals, blind separation of convolutional mixed signals and blind separation of sparse sources were comprehensively analysed to obtain the source signals and realise channel interference suppression of optical communication network. Experimental results show that this method has high interference precision, strong stability and good application prospect.

Reversible assembling of microfluidic devices by aspiration

A spatial filter is often attached to a microphone or microbarometer in order to reduce the noise caused by atmospheric turbulence. This filtering technique is based on the assumption that the coherence length of turbulence is smaller than the spatial extent of the filter, and so contributions from turbulence recorded at widely separated ports will tend to cancel while those of the signal of interest, which will have coherence length larger than the spatial dimensions of the filter, will be reinforced. In this paper, the plane wave response for a spatial filter with an arbitrary arrangement of open ports is determined. It is found that propagation over different port-to-sensor distances causes out-of-phase sinusoids to be summed at the central manifold and can lead to significant amplitude decay and phase delays as a function of frequency. The determined spatial filter plane wave response is superimposed on an array response typical of infrasound arrays that constitute the International Monitoring System infrasound network used for nuclear monitoring purposes. It is found that signal detection capability in terms of the Fisher Statistic can be significantly degraded at certain frequencies. The least-squares estimate of signal slowness can change by up to 1.5° and up to 10 m/s if an asymmetric arrangement of low and high frequency spatial filters is used. However, if a symmetric arrangement of filters is used the least-squares estimate of signal slowness is found to be largely unaffected, except near the predicted null frequency.

Aiming at a kind of specific situation encountered in practice, the paper proposes a weak-signal separation algorithm based on extended alternating projection neural networks by combining the time-domain features of the signal with the frequency-domain features of the signal and taking advantage of conclusions on EAPNN. Simulation results demonstrate that the algorithm is effective and that the EAPNN-based signal separation algorithm is better than the RLS-based signal separation algorithm. Although the EAPNN-based algorithm is designed for the specific situation, it is also applicable to the other situations and a basic frame of the EAPNN-based signal separation is presented. Owing to adopting neural network structure, the EAPNN-based algorithm is prone to parallel computation and VLSI design, consequently can satisfy real-time processing needs.

Velocity of capillary flow in closed or open channels decreases as the flow proceeds down the length of the channel, varying as the inverse of the square root of time or as the inverse of travel distance. In order to increase the flow rate-and extend the duration of the flow-capillary pumps have been designed by mimicking the pumping principle of paper or cotton fibers. These designs provide a larger volume available for the wicking of the liquids. In microsystems for biotechnology, different designs have been developed based on experimental observation. In the present paper, the mechanisms at the basis of capillary pumping are investigated using a theoretical model for the flow in an open-channel "capillary tree" (i.e., an ensemble of channels with bifurcations mimicking the shape of a tree). The model is checked against experiments. Rules for obtaining better designs of capillary pumps are proposed; specifically, we find (1) when using a capillary tree with identical channel cross-sectional areas throughout, it is possible to maintain nearly constant flow rates throughout the channel network, (2) flow rate can be increased at each branch point of a capillary tree by slightly decreasing the areas of the channel cross section and decreasing the channel lengths at each level of ramification within the tree, and (3) higher order branching (trifurcations vs bifurcations) amplify the flow rate effect. This work lays the foundation for increasing the flow rate in open microfluidic channels driven by capillary flow; we expect this to have broad impact across open microfluidics for biological and chemical applications such as cell culture, sample preparation, separations, and on-chip reactions.