Thermally actuated probe arrays for manipulation and characterization of individual bio-cell

We introduce a new concept of thermal micro-actuators combined with electrical sensor device to capture and characterize individual living bio-cell. In our micro fabricated device, cantilevers integrated with sensing part (surface micro-machined poly-silicon) and actuation using the difference of the thermal expansion coefficients between poly-Si and transparent thick polymer (SU-8), are built from a flow channel on the substrate. This paper deals with the detail fabrication, actuation of device and the simulation results for our bimorph probe arrays. The motion of the actuated device is well coincident with the calculated value.