Caltech microscopic microscope

Caltech, have created a microscope an inch across. The mini-microscope has the magnifying properties of a top quality optical microscope but doesn’t need lenses, and can be mass produced at an estimated cost of $10/unit. The device combines computer chip technology with microfluidics – the process of channelling fluid flow at very small scales. Researchers coated a layer of metal on to a grid of charge-coupled device sensors. Then they punched a line of holes measuring less than one-millionth of a meter across into the metal and spaced them five micrometers apart. Each hole corresponds to one pixel on the sensor array. Finally the researchers placed a microfluidic channel on top.