Electrowetting on gold electrodes with microscopic three-dimensional structures for microfluidic devices

To improve the performance of electrowetting-based microfluidic devices, we used micropillar structures to enhance the changes in the wettability of gold electrodes. The changes in the contact angle of a sessile drop were influenced by the diameter of the micropillars and interpillar distances. For a potential change between 0 V and −1.0 V, the change of the contact angle of the KCl sessile drop was 41° on a smooth electrode, but 88° on an electrode with micropillars with a 10 μm diameter. Furthermore, the existence of the micropillars accelerated the change of the contact angle. The gold electrodes with the micropillars were used to generate the capillary force to mobilize a liquid column in a microflow channel. Compared to a device with a smooth electrode, this device showed a fourfold increase in the flow velocity at −0.9 V. The electrodes were also used as a valve. The ability to stop an intruding solution and the switching speed was improved with the micropillar structure.

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