Analysis of general multipolar images on dielectric layers for the calculation of DEP force

An axisymmetric field problem of a sphere and a multi-layered planer dielectric body is investigated based on the multipolar expansion method. First, the multipolar potential, produced by the sphere and expressed in the spherical coordinate system, is re-written in the cylindrical coordinate system as an integral of Bessel function. Then the field problem is solved with the boundary conditions at the planer interface of the dielectrics, and the obtained potential is written back to spherical harmonics, which can be regarded as “image multipoles” inside the dielectric body. The “images” influences back the “multipoles” on the sphere, and the field can be determined by solving these relations in self-consistent manner. DEP force exerted on the particle is calculated as the multipolar interaction, as well as the capacitance for the case involving a conducting sphere and a conducting plane.