REQUIRED TECHNOLOGY BREAKTHROUGHS TO ASSUME WIDELY ACCEPTED BIOSENSORS

Silicon microsensors have been very successful over the last decade in a wide variety of applications. Although commercialization of silicon -based biosensors has been slow, careful applications of microfabricat ion technologies to the development of biosensors will drive the forma tion of many new markets. The most promising high-volume, emerging mar kets include clinical analysis, health care, and environmental. For ex ample, the worldwide sales of clinical sensors are expected to reach s everal hundreds of millions by 2000, whereas the total worldwide marke t for biosensors is forecast to reach $1 billion by the year 2000. In this article, an overview of current and potential markets is presente d with an emphasis on technological barriers to overcome before biosen sors will become more widely accepted. We start by explaining the rela tive success of physical sensors compared to biosensors. Subsequently, we review several biosensor approaches and techniques and their assoc iated problems. Finally, the markets that these sensors are meant to s erve are analyzed.