Traveling electric field conveyor for contactless manipulation of microparts

In an earlier paper by the authors (1995), down-scaled devices for microparts handling utilizing an AC electric field boundary wave were proposed. Devices that instantly generate contactless microparts driving forces through electric field creation have been designed and fabricated. In a further attempt, the mechanisms behind microparts conveyance are subsequently validated in experiments and simulations. Particles as a micropart substitute are actuated. On a thin protecting insulation-film above a series of encased and insulated parallel field electrodes, particles become either triboelectrically or induction charged through the application of balanced multi-phase voltages. The created nonuniform traveling field-wave conveys the charged particles perpendicular to the electrodes confined in potential wells from electrode to electrode. A series of particle materials with diameters up to 400 /spl mu/m has been examined; metal, glass and plastic spheres showed the best performances. Simulations of the potential distribution underline the experimental findings on the electric panel and dots device. One further result, which could have been shown by experiments, is the pre-oscillation of a moving particle caused by gravity.

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