Title :
EWOD actuation with electrode-free cover plate
Author :
Ui-Chong Yi ; Chang-Jin Kim
Author_Institution :
Mech. & Aerosp. Eng. Dept., California Univ., Los Angeles, CA, USA
Abstract :
A new configuration of electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) actuations with electrode-free cover plates is presented. By removing electrodes from one plate, the device becomes more flexible for system development, broadening the choice of sensing mechanisms. Simple devices with various coplanar electrodes on a single side are used to measure contact angles and assess droplet movements. Contact angle changes with respect to applied voltages are in good agreement with our simple analytical model. Droplet moving devices demonstrate successful actuation of droplets (∼0.1 μl) in the gap between the plates with coplanar electrodes and the other with no electrode. Droplet cutting and merging are demonstrated to establish the fundamental fluidic operations with this new configuration. EWOD actuation on an open surface with removed top plate is also demonstrated.
Keywords :
contact angle; drops; microactuators; microelectrodes; microfluidics; micropumps; wetting; EWOD based digital microfluidics; applied voltage induced contact angle changes; contact angle measurement; coplanar electrodes; droplet cutting; droplet merging; droplet movement; droplet moving devices; electrode-free cover plate; electrowetting-on-dielectric actuation; lab-on-chip systems; liquid pumping; microchannels; open surface EWOD actuation; Aerospace engineering; Biochemical analysis; DNA; Electrodes; Fabrication; Insulation; Lab-on-a-chip; Microfluidics; Shape; Signal detection;
Conference_Titel :
Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, 2005. Digest of Technical Papers. TRANSDUCERS '05. The 13th International Conference on
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8994-8
DOI :
10.1109/SENSOR.2005.1496366
