Modeling Electric Fields in Slit Capillary Array Fluidic Actuators with Complex Electrode Geometries

J. Frey[1], A. Droitcour[1], D. Laser[1]
[1]Wave 80 Biosciences, San Francisco, CA, USA
Published in 2012

With their small size, low manufacturing cost, fast transient response, and capacity to generate fluid power directly from small electrical power sources, microdevices incorporating electroosmostic flow (EOF) have wide-ranging applications, including newly developed high-performance bioassay systems suitable for use in resource-limited settings. We report on a class of EOF-based devices called slit array capillary array fluidic actuators (SCAFA). COMSOL was used to study the relationship between SCAFA electrode configuration and axial electric field within the EOF-generating region. Physical experiments with fabricated SCAFAs affirmed key predictions of the model relating to maximization of flow rate and back pressure.

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