Primitives
| Primitive | Syntax |
|---|---|
| Port | 'PORT’ ID (‘,’ ID )* (‘r=’ INT)? ‘;’ |
| Node | ‘NODE’ ID (‘,’ ID)* ‘;' |
| Long Cell Trap | (‘V’|‘H’) ‘LONG CELL TRAP’ ID (‘,’ ID)* ‘numChambers=’ INT ‘chamberWidth=’ INT ‘chamberLength=’INT ‘chamberSpacing=’ INT ‘channelWidth=’ INT ‘;’ |
| Square Cell Trap | ‘SQUARE CELL TRAP’ ID (‘,’ ID )* ‘chamberWidth=’INT ‘chamberLength=’ INT ‘chamberSpacing=’ INT‘channelWidth=’ INT ‘;’ |
| Mixer | (‘V’|‘H’) ‘MIXER’ ID ‘numBends=’ INT ‘bendSpacing=’ INT ‘bendLength=’ INT ‘channelWidth=’ INT ‘;’ |
| Valve | ‘VALVE’ ID ‘on’ ID ‘w=’ INT ‘l=’ INT ‘;’ |
A Port represents a location on the device where fluid or air may enter and leave. Port objects may be declared on both the flow and control layer. It has one parameter, the radius, which must be given in microns. A diagram of the parameters and numbering and location of the terminals is shown in the Figure. Multiple ports may be declared in the same statement provided they have the same radius.
"params": {
"portRadius": 10,
"position": [
210,
210
]
}
A Node represents a location on the device where one or more channels on the same layer may intersect. It has no parameters, and its size is determined by the widths of the channels connecting to it. Up to four channels may intersect at a node. A diagram of the numbering and locations of the terminals is shown in the Figure. Multiple nodes may be declared in the statement.
"params": {
"width": INT,
"length":INT,
"position": [
INT,
INT
]
}
A CellTrap represents a structure for growing cells for microscopy. I based this structure on the cell trap design from the Hasty Lab (Prindle et al., 2012; Danino et al., 2010). It has multiple small chambers flanking a wider and deeper channel, all of which is treated as one structure. A separate photomask is generated for the chambers of the cell trap as they are a different height than the flow channels. Figure 3·7 and Figure 3·8 show the parameters and terminal numbering for the two cell trap subclasses. Key parameters for a CellTrap are the length and width of chambers, distance between chambers, width of the flow channel, and the total number of chambers. A CellTrap may only be declared on the flow layer. Multiple cell traps may be declared in the same statement provided they are of the same subclass and have the same parameters.
A long cell trap, CellTrapL, may be horizontal or vertical and has two terminals numbered as shown in the Figure. It may contain an arbitrary number of chambers. A square cell trap, CellTrapS, contains 4 chambers at a 4 way junction. It has 4 terminals numbered as shown in figure the Figure. The size of chambers may vary, but this structure is restricted to 4 chambers only.
A Mixer represents a serpentine mixer used for mixing two fluids. The details of the fluid mechanics of this structure are given by Squire et al. (Squires and Quake, 2005). The key parameters are the number of bends, the spacing distance between bends, the length of bend, and the width of the channel. This structure may be horizontal or vertical and has two terminals. It may only be declared in the flow layer. The parameters and terminal numbering are in the Figure.
A Valve represents a location on the control layer that may be distended through application of pneumatic pressure to form a seal on the flow layer. The full mechanics of this is described by Thorsen and Quake (Thorsen et al., 2002). This may only be declared on control layer. The parameters for a valve are the length, the width, and the flow channel the valve controls. The channel must exist on flow layer in order for valve to be created. For a horizontal flow channel, the valve width is 1.5 times channel width, and the valve length is 3 times channel width. For a vertical flow channel, the valve width is 3 times channel width, and the valve length is 1.5 times channel width. The parameters and terminal numbering are shown in the Figure.
As an application note, if the valve is placed on a horizontal channel, control layer connections should not be made to terminals 1 and 3. Likewise, if the valve is placed on a vertical flow channel, control layer connections should not made to terminals 2 and 4. Doing so would cause a control channel to be physically on top of a flow channel, which would violates design rules for multilayer soft lithography. This structure is valid for valves made with multilayer soft lithography. Section 3.3.5 covers valve designs for alternative fabrication methods.
| Primitive | Syntax |
|---|---|
| Channel | 'Channel’ ID from ID INT to ID INT 'w='INT ‘;’ |
A Channel represents a connection between two structures on a microfluidic device. A channel goes from a terminal on a source component to a terminal on a target component. The key parameter of a channel is the width and is shown in Figure. Both the source and target components must have already been declared in the device, and both components must have a valid terminal. Channels only go between two terminals and may only connect at 90 degree angles.
A Net represents a set of channels originating from a single source. All channels in a net share the same source component and the same source terminal. A Net may only be declared on the control layer at this time. The Figure shows the usage of the net statement. When declaring a net, the target closest to the source must be first in the list of targets.
