Gas flow in a microdevice with a mixing layer configuration

We have designed an integrated microsystem with a mixing layer configuration, fabricated using standard micromachining techniques, in order to study fluid flows, in complex microfluidic systems, that are certain to find numerous important applications, especially in biomedical or chemical analysis. The device features two narrow and parallel channels merging smoothly into a wide channel downstream of a splitter plate, all 1 μm in height, integrated with distributed pressure sensors. The characterization of the device included measurements of flow rate and pressure distribution for single-phase gas flow. Argon gas was passed either through one of the inlet channels, while the other was blocked, or through both inlet channels. Simple flow models of either a single straight microchannel or a pair of microchannels with different widths, connected in series, have been found to provide reasonable predictions of the evolving flow fields.