Non-equilibrium electrokinetic nanofluidic mixers

We propose a new type of micro/nano fluidic mixer based on non-equilibrium electrokinetics and demonstrate its mixing capacity. We fabricate the device with two-step reactive ion etching, one for a nanochannel and one for a microchannel. Mixing is achieved by strong vortex structures formed near the micro/nano channel interface. We expect the proposed device to be beneficial in the development of micro total analysis systems, since it is simple in its design yet with minimal fabrication complications.