Acoustic streaming of ink particles inside a water microdroplet generated by a surface acoustic wave (SAW) has been studied numerically using a finite volume numerical method and these results have been verified using experimental measurements. Effects of SAW excitation frequency, droplet volume, and radio-frequency (RF) power are investigated, and it has been shown that SAW excitation frequency influences the SAW attenuation length, l_SAW, and hence the acoustic energy absorbed by liquid. It has also been observed that an increase of excitation frequency generally enhances the SAW streaming behavior. However, when the frequency exceeds a critical value that depends on the RF power applied to the SAW device, weaker acoustic streaming is observed resulting in less effective acoustic mixing inside the droplet. This critical value is characterised by a dimensionless ratio of droplet radius to SAW attenuation length, i.e., R_d/l_SAW. With a mean value of R_d/l_SAW ≈ 1, a fast and efficient mixing can be induced, even at the lowest RF power of 0.05 mW studied in this paper. On the other hand, for the R_d/l_SAW ratios much larger than ∼1, significant decreases in streaming velocities were observed, resulting in a transition from regular (strong) to irregular (weak) mixing/flow. This is attributed to an increased absorption rate of acoustic wave energy that leaks into the liquid, resulting in a reduction of the acoustic energy radiated away from the SAW interaction region towards the droplet free surface. It has been demonstrated in this study that a fast and efficient mixing process with a smaller RF power could be achieved if the ratio of R_d/l_SAW ≤ 1 in the SAW-droplet based microfluidics.

This paper reports the numerical simulation and experimental characterization of three-dimensional acoustic streaming behavior of a liquid droplet subjected to a Rayleigh surface acoustic wave. The streaming behavior of the droplet was studied as a function of radio-frequency (RF) power, aperture of the interdigitated transducer, and size of the liquid droplet. The hydrodynamic flow field within the droplet was determined by solving the laminar incompressible Navier–Stoke’s equations. The numerical and experimental results are shown to be in good agreement over the range of parameters examined. The ratios of the position of butterfly central line (axis of rotation) to radius of the droplet are demonstrated to be fairly constant for moderate droplet volumes and to vary by less than 12% at large droplet volumes. Besides that, an increase in the RF power and a decrease in the droplet size result in an increased surface acoustic wave (SAW) streaming velocity. The numerical results also suggest that a maximum streaming velocity is achieved when the SAW width is approximately half of the droplet radius.

This paper presents a robust anodic Ta₂O₅ dielectric as an alternative insulator for fabricating low-voltage electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) systems. Previously reported low-voltage EWOD technologies require high-temperature processes ( > 435degC), which unlike this room temperature technology, are not compatible with standard copper and aluminum integrated circuit interconnect technology as well as polymer-based substrates. The anodized Ta₂O₅ forms a uniform pinhole free layer with a surface roughness (R _a) of 0.6 nm. This robust film enables an ultrathin amorphous FluoroPolymer layer to be employed to reduce the EWOD driving voltage to 13 V. Both sub-20-nm Teflon-AF and CYTOP layers have been successfully coated on top of Ta₂O₅ with good adhesion. Applying voltages of 6-15 V significantly modified the contact angles of droplets in air on these samples (121deg to 81deg on Teflon-AF at 13 V and 114deg to 95deg on CYTOP at 6 V). Successful 14-V EWOD manipulation involving droplets being dispensed from a reservoir, their movement, followed by merging them together has been demonstrated using devices using a Teflon-AF + Ta₂O₅ dielectric.