Self-alignment of microparts using liquid surface tension—behavior of micropart and alignment characteristics

Sato, Kaiji; Ito, Kentaro; Hata, Seiichi; Shimokohbe, Akira

doi:10.1016/s0141-6359(02)00182-4

Cited by 71 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Together with meniscus overflow, tilting is reportedly a significant failure mode in capillary self-alignment 8 . In presence of tilting the self-aligning process is compromised because the capillary forces are opposed by friction between solid surfaces 11,18,23 . Moreover, the tilt mode provides limited restoring torque 9 , and the system may effectively escape from the state of local energy minimum only through external agitation 11,22 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The same capillary forces tend to restore the system into the equilibrium state against perturbations and displacements 8 . Selfrecovery of rest position and intrinsic mechanical compliance sparked interest in droplet-based capillary systems for relevant technological applications, such as conformal joints [15][16][17] , compliant handling 4 , precise registration of components 18,19 and self-assembly 8 . Thereby the focus has mainly been on sub-millimetric components actuated by droplets of similar size, and correspondingly on displacements from equilibrium of relatively small magnitude.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeling capillary forces for large displacements

Mastrangeli

Arutinov

Smits

et al. 2014

Microfluid Nanofluid

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Originally applied to the accurate, passive positioning of submillimetric devices, recent works proved capillary self-alignment as effective also for larger components and relatively large initial offsets. In this paper we describe an analytic quasi-static model of 1D capillary restoring forces that generalizes existing geometrical models and extends the validity to large displacements from equilibrium. The piece-wise nature of the model accounts for contact line unpinning singularities ensuing from large perturbations of the liquid meniscus and dewetting of the bounding surfaces. The superior accuracy of the generalized model across the extended displacement range, and particularly beyond the elastic regime as compared to purely elastic models, is supported by finite element simulations and recent experimental evidence. Limits of the model are discussed in relation to the aspect ratio of the meniscus, contact angle hysteresis, tilting and self-alignment dynamics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling capillary forces for large displacements

Mastrangeli

Arutinov

Smits

et al. 2014

Microfluid Nanofluid

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show abstract

“…9 The initial offset and the fluid mechanics of the contact between die and liquid layer are critical for capillary SA performance. 7,11 Still, the formation and initial evolution of the liquid bridge upon contact with the die so far received little attention. In fact, wetting of the bottom die surface is either not controlled, as in most experiments, 7 or assumed to be complete, as in both static 5 and dynamic 8 models.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of capillary self-alignment for mesoscopic foil devices

Arutinov

Mastrangeli

Smits

et al. 2013

Applied Physics Letters

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We report experimental evidence for three sequential, distinct dynamic regimes in the capillary self-alignment of centimeter-sized foil dies released at large uniaxial offsets from equilibrium. We show that the initial transient wetting regime, along with inertia and wetting properties of the dies, significantly affect the alignment dynamics including the subsequent constant acceleration and damped oscillatory regimes. An analytical force model is proposed that accounts for die wetting and matches quasi-static numerical simulations. Discrepancies with experimental data point to the need for a comprehensive dynamical model to capture the full system dynamics.

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“…Several approaches have been developed in order to alter the wetting properties of specific regions of a surface. These include (super)hydrophilic and (super)hydrophobic target sites [10][11][12][13][14][15], (super)oleophilic and (super)oleophobic for oil-based liquids [16][17][18], micropillar arrays to create hydrophobic regions [19,20], as well as most recently, receptor sites with sharp edges to inhibit liquid spreading [21][22][23][24]. These methods can be divided into two distinct areas; those which rely on altering the surface properties of specific regions to influence wetting behaviour, and those that utilise physical geometric structures to constrain liquid spreading.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%