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Christine Ann Trinkle Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering-Mechanical Engineering University of California, Berkeley Professor Luke P. Lee, Co-Chair Professor Dorian Liepmann, Co-Chair

Silicon microfabrication technology has enabled the creation of microfluidic devices for performing complex manipulation of fluid samples on enclosed microchips. Researchers hope to use this platform to create miniaturized, portable systems based on many biological, chemical, and medical analyses currently performed in wet labs; these devices have applications in an almost limitless number of fields, from medical diagnostics to water treatment to detection of explosives. But truly useful microfluidic devices require more than just fluidic channels; they require chemical, biomolecular and/or electronic components as well. And while each these components can be created alone, fundamental incompatibilities in fabrication processes-polymer microfluidic channels cannot withstand solvents used in IC processing, and biomolecules such as proteins and DNA denature when exposed to high temperatures required for microchannel fabrication-have prohibited their integration into complete, functional devices.