Coplanar Electrode Near-Field Radiation Optimization for Single-Cell Detection

Microwave and microfluidic techniques may enable wireless monitoring and interaction with bio-particles, yet still is a largely uncharted territory. Fortunately, the requirements and capabilities of microfluidics and microwave techniques converge to the system miniaturization for reaching the sensitivity levels required. Accordingly, in this work, it is presented the design of a coplanar electrode geometry to optimize the near-field reactive radiated field intensity into the position of the bioparticle. A measurement setup for the system-level characterization of different designs of bio-particle-sensing coplanar-electrodes on a microfluidic-platform will be also described. The design of the signal chain of the measurement setup is optimized for a RF superheterodyne receiver. The signal-integrity is achieved with a compact microwave-shielded-chamber, protecting from electromagnetic interference the coplanar electrodes on a microfluidic platform. Finally, experimental validation of the system-level performance of the measurement setup are provided, for different coplanar-electrodes designs.