Modification and characterisation of material hydrophobicity for surface acoustic wave driven microfluidics

H. Zou, Y. Li, Stewart Smith, Andrew Bunting, A.J. Walton, J.G. Terry

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Surface acoustic waves (SAW) generated in a piezoelectric substrate may be used to manipulate micro-scale droplets of liquid in a digital microfluidic system for lab-on-a-chip applications. The wettability of the surface over which a droplet is driven determines the ease and speed with which the droplet is propelled. This provides the opportunity to achieve fine control of SAW driven droplets simply by patterning of the surface into areas with different levels of wettability. This paper evaluates a number of different materials and surface preparation techniques and assesses their manufacturability and efficacy for this application. Test structures have been designed and developed to help optimise a fabrication process using the biocompatible polymer Parylene. Early results obtained using airflow as a driving force show that it is possible to manipulate droplets through direction changes of up to 60 #x00B0;. Additional work has been done using surface acoustic waves as the driving force to determine the extent to which droplets can be guided to desired locations.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMicroelectronic Test Structures (ICMTS), 2012 IEEE International Conference on
Pages61 -65
Number of pages5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2012
EventIEEE International Conference on Microelectronic Test Structures (ICMTS) - San Diego
Duration: 20 Mar 201222 Mar 2012

Conference

ConferenceIEEE International Conference on Microelectronic Test Structures (ICMTS)
CitySan Diego
Period20/03/1222/03/12

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • microfluisics
  • propulsion
  • surface acoustic waves

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Modification and characterisation of material hydrophobicity for surface acoustic wave driven microfluidics'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this