Thermocycling system and manufacturing method
Inventors
Brahmasandra, Sundaresh • Haddock, Thomas • Duffy, Patrick • Williams, Jeffrey
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-11338295-B2
Publication Date
2022-05-24
Expiration Date
Abstract
A system for thermocycling biological samples within detection chambers comprising: a set of heater-sensor dies, each heater-sensor die comprising a heating surface configured to interface with a detection chamber and a second surface, inferior to the heating surface, including a first connection point; an electronics substrate, comprising a first substrate surface coupled to the second surface of each heater-sensor die, an aperture providing access through the electronics substrate to at least one heater-sensor die, and a second substrate surface inferior to the first substrate surface, wherein the electronics substrate comprises a set of substrate connection points at least at one of the first substrate surface, an aperture surface defined within the aperture, and the second substrate surface, and wherein the electronics substrate is configured to couple heating elements and sensing elements of the set of heater-sensor dies to a controller; and a set of wire bonds, including a wire bond coupled between the first connection point of at least one of the set of heater-sensor dies and one of the set of substrate connection points.
Core Innovation
The thermocycling system uses a heating region deposited on a first insulating layer at exposed surfaces of a substrate and patterned to define a heating array. The heating array includes a set of heating elements and a set of sensing elements distinct from the heating elements, with sensing elements distributed at different locations within the heating region. The heating region is divided into heater-sensor dies, where each heater-sensor die includes a heating surface and a second surface inferior to the heating surface, and the second surface includes a first connection point for interconnection.
An electronics substrate is provided with a first substrate surface configured to couple to the second surface of each heater-sensor die. The electronics substrate includes an aperture providing access through the electronics substrate to at least one heater-sensor die, and a second substrate surface inferior to the first substrate surface. A conductor is coupled from the first connection point of at least one heater-sensor die to a second connection point of the electronics substrate through the aperture, enabling electrical interconnection between the heater-sensor dies and controller circuitry on the electronics substrate.
The disclosed manufacturing approaches include forming the heating array with integrated sensing elements by depositing an adhesion material layer and coupling a noble material layer, followed by forming a pattern of voids through the adhesion material layer and the noble material layer. Coarse elements of the pattern define heating elements, while fine elements integrated within coarse elements define sensing elements. Additional optical mitigation is described by applying a non-reflective coating proximal to the heating surface to mitigate reflection of light from the heating surface toward photodetectors of an optical subsystem during operation.
Claims Coverage
The document includes three independent method claims. Together they cover manufacturing a thermocycling system with heater-sensor dies that have distinct heating and sensing elements, coupled to an electronics substrate via an aperture-based conductor connection, and further specify how the heating array is patterned and layered, including optical reflection mitigation and specific heating-array geometries.
Manufacturing a heating array with distinct heater and sensing elements on a substrate
forming a first insulating layer at exposed surfaces of a substrate; depositing a heating region onto the first insulating layer of the substrate; patterning the heating region to define a heating array having a set of heating elements and a set of sensing elements distinct from the heating elements, with sensing elements distributed at different locations within the heating region
Dividing the heating array into heater-sensor dies with a connection point
dividing the heating array into a set of heater-sensor dies, each heater-sensor die comprising a heating surface, including a heating element and a sensing element, and each heater-sensor die comprising a second surface, inferior to the heating surface, including a first connection point
Aperture-access electronics substrate coupling via conductor between die and substrate connection points
providing an electronics substrate having a first substrate surface configured to couple to the second surface of each heater-sensor die, an aperture providing access through the electronics substrate to at least one heater-sensor die, and a second substrate surface inferior to the first substrate surface; coupling a conductor from the first connection point of at least one heater-sensor die to a second connection point of the electronics substrate through the aperture of the electronics substrate
Heating array patterning using removal to define heating and sensing elements with coarse/fine integration
forming the heating array with a pattern of voids through the adhesion material layer and the noble material layer, wherein coarse elements of the pattern define heating elements and fine elements integrated within coarse elements define sensing elements
Coupling heater-sensor dies to a controller
forming an insulating layer on exposed surfaces of a substrate; depositing a heating region on the insulating layer; patterning the heating region to define a heating array with a central circular heating element and two circumferential heating elements defined by coarse patterning, and sensing elements defined by fine patterning; dividing the heating array into a set of heater-sensor dies, each including a heating element, a sensing element, and a connection point; and coupling the set of heater-sensor dies to a controller
Across the independent claims, the claims cover manufacturing a thermocycling heating array with distinct heating elements and sensing elements, dividing the array into heater-sensor dies with a connection point, and coupling those dies to an electronics substrate/controller via an aperture-based conductor connection. Additional coverage specifies void-based coarse/fine patterning through adhesion and noble material layers and a heating-array pattern including a central circular heating element and circumferential heating elements with fine-pattern sensing elements.
Stated Advantages
Mitigate reflection of light from the heating surface toward photodetectors of an optical subsystem opposed to the heating surface during operation of the thermocycling system.
Documented Applications
No documented applications found
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