Microfluidic chip

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11344891-B2
Application number	US-201916768558-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 13, 2019
Priority date	Nov 19, 2018
Publication date	May 31, 2022
Grant date	May 31, 2022

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a microfluidic chip, including: first base substrate and a second base substrate opposite to each other; first electrode and second electrode between the first base substrate and the second base substrate and configured to control droplet to move between the first base substrate and the second base substrate according to voltages applied on the first electrode and the second electrode; light guide component configured to guide light propagating in the first base substrate to the droplet; shading component and detection component, shading component having light transmission regions spaced from each other, light transmission regions being configured to transmit light passing through the droplet to the detection component, wherein detection component is on second base substrate and is configured to obtain property of the droplet according to an intensity of the light passing through droplet and received from the light transmission regions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A microfluidic chip, comprising:
a first base substrate and a second base substrate opposite to each other;
a first electrode and a second electrode between the first base substrate and the second base substrate and configured to control a droplet to move between the first base substrate and the second base substrate according to voltages applied on the first electrode and the second electrode; and
a light guide component configured to guide light propagating in the first base substrate to the droplet;
a shading component and a detection component, the shading component having light transmission regions spaced from each other, the light transmission regions being configured to transmit light passing through the droplet to the detection component,
wherein the detection component is on the second base substrate and is configured to obtain a property of the droplet according to an intensity of the light passing through the droplet and received from respective ones of the light transmission regions.

2. The microfluidic chip of claim 1 , wherein
the first base substrate comprises an optical waveguide layer in which light propagates with total reflection, and
the light guide component comprises a grating structure on a side of the optical waveguide layer close to the first electrode and configured to extract a portion of light propagating in the optical waveguide layer and to collimate and guide the extracted light to the droplet.

3. The microfluidic chip of claim 2 , wherein
the grating structure is configured to extract monochromatic light from polychromatic light propagating in the optical waveguide layer and to collimate and guide the extracted monochromatic light to the droplet.

4. The microfluidic chip of claim 2 , wherein
the light propagating in the optical waveguide layer is monochromatic light.

5. The microfluidic chip of claim 2 , wherein
an orthographic projection of the grating structure on the first base substrate at least partially overlaps with an orthographic projection of the light transmission region of the shading component on the first base substrate.

6. The microfluidic chip of claim 2 , wherein
the detection component is further configured to detect an intensity of natural light passing through the droplet so as to determine a position of the droplet.

7. The microfluidic chip of claim 2 , wherein the light guide component further comprises a light control layer, and the light control layer is on a side of the grating structure away from the optical waveguide layer and is configured to control a position at which the light is guided out from the grating structure according to a position of the droplet detected by the detection component and to filter out non-collimated light.

8. The microfluidic chip of claim 7 , wherein
the light control layer comprises a third electrode layer and a fourth electrode layer opposite to each other and a first electrochromic layer between the third electrode layer and the fourth electrode layer,
the third electrode layer comprises a plurality of transparent third electrodes spaced apart from each other, the fourth electrode layer comprises a plurality of transparent fourth electrodes spaced apart from each other, and orthographic projections of the third electrodes on the first electrochromic layer overlap with orthographic projections of the fourth electrodes on the first electrochromic layer, and
the third electrodes and the fourth electrodes are configured to control a state of the first electrochromic layer according to voltages applied on the third electrodes and the fourth electrodes so as to control the position at which the light is guided out from the grating structure and to filter out the non-collimated light.

9. The microfluidic chip of claim 2 , wherein the optical waveguide layer and the grating structure are formed as a single piece.

10. The microfluidic chip of claim 1 , wherein
the shading component comprises a fifth electrode layer and a sixth electrode layer opposite to each other and a second electrochromic layer between the fifth electrode layer and the sixth electrode layer,
the fifth electrode layer comprises a plurality of transparent fifth electrodes spaced apart from each other, the sixth electrode layer comprises a plurality of transparent sixth electrodes spaced apart from each other, and orthographic projections of the fifth electrodes on the second electrochromic layer overlap with orthographic projections of the sixth electrodes on the second electrochromic layer, and
the fifth electrodes and the sixth electrodes are configured to control a state of the second electrochromic layer according to voltages applied on the fifth electrodes and the sixth electrodes so as to control positions of the light transmission regions in the shading component.

11. The microfluidic chip of claim 1 , wherein the shading component and the detection component are sequentially arranged on a side of the second electrode close to the second base substrate.

12. The microfluidic chip of claim 1 , wherein the detection component comprises a plurality of detection units arranged in an array.

13. The microfluidic chip of claim 12 , wherein the detection units each comprise an optical sensor.

14. The microfluidic chip of claim 1 , further comprising a first dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer opposite to each other, and a first hydrophobic layer and a second hydrophobic layer opposite to each other, wherein
the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer are between the first electrode and the second electrode; and
the first hydrophobic layer and the second hydrophobic layer are between the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer.

15. The microfluidic chip of claim 7 , wherein the light control layer is between the first electrode and the optical waveguide layer.

16. The microfluidic chip of claim 7 , wherein the light control layer is on a side of the first electrode away from the optical waveguide layer.

17. The microfluidic chip of claim 1 , wherein
the first base substrate comprises an optical waveguide layer in which light propagates with total reflection,
the light guide component comprises a plurality of grating structures, each of the grating structures is on a side of the optical waveguide layer close to the first electrode and configured to extract a portion of light propagating in the optical waveguide layer and to collimate and guide the extracted light to the droplet, and
the light propagating in the optical waveguide layer is polychromatic light, and colors of the light extracted from the optical waveguide layer by the plurality of grating structures are different from each other.

Assignees

• Beijing Boe Optoelectronics Tech Co Ltd
• Boe Technology Group Co Ltd

Inventors

• Zhao Yingying
• Cai Peizhi
• Gu Le
• Pang Fengchun
• Geng Yue
• Xiao Yuelei
• Cui Haochen
• Zhao Nan
• Liao Hui
• Yao Wenliang
• Che Chuncheng

Classifications

• G01N2201/08

  Optical fibres; light guides · CPC title

• G01N2021/056

  Laminated construction · CPC title

• G01N2021/035

  Supports for sample drops · CPC title

• G01N2021/0346

  Capillary cells; Microcells · CPC title

• B01L3/502715 Primary

  characterised by interfacing components, e.g. fluidic, electrical, optical or mechanical interfaces · CPC title