The advent of novel materials for electronics, optoelectronics and nanoelectronics holds the promise for new microelectronic device designs and applications across all fields of science and technology. Furthermore, the increasing sophistication of fabrication processes and techniques used in the semiconductor industry has resulted in the ability to produce circuits of greater complexity at remarkably reduced costs, a trend which has been continuing over the past half-century. Application of progress made in the microelectronics industry to the biomedical and biotechnology fields is a research area rich in possibilities, given the rapid parallel growth in both microelectronics and biotechnology
