First step towards a fully automated trim control for liquid deposition device at the microscale using piezoresistive cantilevers row

We present a fully automated MEMS designed for the trim control of a microspotting system (so called "bioplume") using an integrated parallel force sensor with high precision and sensitivity. This MEMS improves the results, in terms of size and homogeneity of deposited droplets, through a direct-contact method. It allows the contact time and the force to be controlled during deposition. Using this method, homogeneous spots can be realized leading to coherent analysis. The resolution of the sensor is approximately 0.6 V//spl mu/m with an uncertainty of 100 mV, which gives a trim angle error of 0.006/spl deg/.