A micromechanical switch with electrostatically driven liquid-metal droplet

Kim, Joonwon; Shen, Wenjiang; Latorre, Laurent; Kim, Chang‐Jin

doi:10.1016/s0924-4247(02)00022-5

Cited by 55 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…(4), and F CLfixed and F CLlinear calculated from Eqs. (6) and (7) respectively. Each data point represents one experiment from Fig.…”

Section: Analytical Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The motion of droplets can be induced by electrostatic forces (e.g. in micro-fluidic devices [6]), by temperature or chemical gradients [7,8], by shearing forces due to the motion of a surrounding fluid [9], or by the action of gravity [10][11][12][13][14][15]. It is the last case that has received the most attention, and many studies of viscous droplets sliding down inclined surfaces have been performed both experimentally [10][11][12] and computationally [13,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Displacement of liquid droplets on a surface by a shearing air flow

Fan

Wilson

Kapur

2011

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

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“…(4), and F CLfixed and F CLlinear calculated from Eqs. (6) and (7) respectively. Each data point represents one experiment from Fig.…”

Section: Analytical Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Displacement of liquid droplets on a surface by a shearing air flow

Fan

Wilson

Kapur

2011

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

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“…

tension, geometry, and fluidic instabilities through spatial control of interfacial energies.Several examples of digital microfluidics and liquid-based switches exist in the literature, though most demand high voltages for conventional electrostatic techniques [7][8][9][10][11] or activate under outside influences such as environmental corrosion of oxide. [12] Referring to Figure 1, lowvoltage-controlled coalescence and separation are accomplished with a pair of liquid metal (LM) droplets immersed in a basic aqueous electrolytic solution.

…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Field‐Controlled Electrical Switch with Liquid Metal

2017

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When immersed in an electrolyte, droplets of Ga‐based liquid metal (LM) alloy can be manipulated in ways not possible with conventional electrocapillarity or electrowetting. This study demonstrates how LM electrochemistry can be exploited to coalesce and separate droplets under moderate voltages of ~1–10 V. This novel approach to droplet interaction can be explained with a theory that accounts for oxidation and reduction as well as fluidic instabilities. Based on simulations and experimental analysis, this study finds that droplet separation is governed by a unique limit‐point instability that arises from gradients in bipolar electrochemical reactions that lead to gradients in interfacial tension. The LM coalescence and separation are used to create a field‐programmable electrical switch. As with conventional relays or flip‐flop latch circuits, the system can transition between bistable (separated or coalesced) states, making it useful for memory storage, logic, and shape‐programmable circuitry using entirely liquids instead of solid‐state materials.

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“…In most reported LM droplet manipulation studies, using electricity to control is the most convenient method. In these devices, LM droplets, not only gallium-based alloys, but mercury as well, are driven by a pair of electrodes to move or transform to perform as switches, pumps, or mixers [19,20]. In most cases, LM droplets have to be wholly wrapped with electrolyte solution, such as NaOH solution, so that the droplet could be easily electrically driven [29,30].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most common principles of driving an LM droplet are electrowetting-on-dielectric and electrostatic. One of the most popular applications of LM droplet control is to use its high electrical and thermal conductivity in microfluidics as a micromechanical switch inside microchannels for thermal or electrical conduction [18][19][20]. Basic microfluidics components, such as micropumps [21] and mixers [22], are achieved by electrowetting (EW) controlled liquid metal droplets as well.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study of Dielectrophoresis-Based Liquid Metal Droplet Control Microfluidic Device

Tian

Gui

2021

Micromachines

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This study presents a dielectrophoresis-based liquid metal (LM) droplet control microfluidic device. Six square liquid metal electrodes are fabricated beneath an LM droplet manipulation pool. By applying different voltages on the different electrodes, a non-uniform electric field is formed around the LM droplet, and charges are induced on the surface of the droplet accordingly, so that the droplet could be driven inside the electric field. With a voltage of ±1000 V applied on the electrodes, the LM droplets are driven with a velocity of 0.5 mm/s for the 2.0 mm diameter ones and 1.0 mm/s for the 1.0 mm diameter ones. The whole chip is made of PDMS, and microchannels are fabricated by laser ablation. In this device, the electrodes are not in direct contact with the working droplets; a thin PDMS film stays between the electrodes and the driven droplets, preventing Joule heat or bubble formation during the experiments. To enhance the flexibility of the chip design, a gallium-based alloy with melting point of 10.6 °C is used as electrode material in this device. This dielectrophoresis (DEP) device was able to successfully drive liquid metal droplets and is expected to be a flexible approach for liquid metal droplet control.

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A micromechanical switch with electrostatically driven liquid-metal droplet

Cited by 55 publications

References 17 publications

Displacement of liquid droplets on a surface by a shearing air flow

Displacement of liquid droplets on a surface by a shearing air flow

Field‐Controlled Electrical Switch with Liquid Metal

A Study of Dielectrophoresis-Based Liquid Metal Droplet Control Microfluidic Device

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