Surface Acoustic Wave Microchannel Actuation

 
If a microchannel were laser ablated into the surface acoustic wave  substrate, it is possible to drive very fast microchannel pumping, with flow rates around 1-100 μl/min, which is one to two orders of magnitude faster than currently available micropumps. Furthermore, it is possible to tune the sound wavelength in the fluid and the microchannel dimension to provide switchability between uniform through-flow for micropumping and oscillatory flow for micro-mixing within the same channel.


In addition, we have also shown the possibility of transporting and mixing fluid in paper-based microfluidic systems. Unlike passive capillary-based transport through the paper network, the SAW-induced actuation allows for faster flow as well as more uniform and precise mixing.


















  1. 1.MK Tan, LY Yeo, JR Friend. Rapid Fluid Flow and Mixing Induced in Microchannels using Surface Acoustic Waves. Europhys Lett 87, 47003 (2009) (PDF).

  2. 2.MK Tan, R Tjeung, H Ervin, LY Yeo, J Friend. Double Aperture Focusing Transducer for Controlling Microparticle Motions in Trapezoidal Microchannels with Surface Acoustic Waves. Appl Phys Lett 95, 134101 (2009) (PDF).

  3. 3.MK Tan, LY Yeo, JR Friend. Unique Flow Transitions and Particle Collection Switching Phenomena in a Microchannel Induced by Surface Acoustic Waves. Appl Phys Lett 97, 234106 (2010) (PDF).

  4. 4.AR Rezk, A Qi, JR Friend, WH Li, LY Yeo. Uniform Mixing in Paper-Based Microfluidic Systems Using Surface Acoustic Waves. Lab Chip 12, 773–779 (2012) (PDF).

  5. 5.MB Dentry, J Friend, LY Yeo. Continuous Flow Actuation Between External Reservoirs in Small-Scale Devices Driven by Surface Acoustic Waves. Lab Chip 14, 750–758 (2014) (PDF).

  6. 6.MB Dentry, LY Yeo, JR Friend. Frequency Effects on the Scale and Behavior of Acoustic Streaming. Phys Rev E 89, 013203 (2014) (PDF).



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