Optical Micromirror Actuation using Thermocapillary Effect in Microdroplets

Author

Dhull, R.K. ; Puchades, I. ; Fuller, L. ; Lu, Y.W.

Author_Institution

Rochester Inst. of Technol., Rochester, NY

fYear

2009

fDate

25-29 Jan. 2009

Firstpage

995

Lastpage

998

Abstract

This paper presents a simple means that utilizes surface tension gradient to cause droplet deformation, and to tilt micro-objects. Thermocapillary or Marangoni effect, and contact angle hysteresis are employed to control the droplet shape and position. The device consists of a microplate placed onto a microdroplet, and can produce a 6.5deg tilting angle when actuated at 30 V. It shows the potential applications in scanning micromirror and display technology.

Keywords

convection; drops; microactuators; micromirrors; optical control; optical design techniques; surface tension; Marangoni effect; contact angle hysteresis; display technology; droplet deformation; droplet shape; microdroplets; microplate placed; optical micromirror actuation; scanning micromirror; surface tension gradient; thermocapillary effect; Electrostatics; Fabrication; Hysteresis; Low voltage; Microfluidics; Micromechanical devices; Micromirrors; Shape control; Surface tension; Temperature;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, 2009. MEMS 2009. IEEE 22nd International Conference on

Conference_Location

Sorrento

ISSN

1084-6999

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-2977-6

Electronic_ISBN

1084-6999

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MEMSYS.2009.4805553

Filename

4805553