Atomization and Stirring of Droplets Using Surface Acoustic Wave for Integrated Droplet Manipulation

Abstract

New droplet manipulation, including droplet atomization, stirring, and emulsification, using a surface acoustic wave device is done directly on an interdigital transducer for surface acoustic wave excitation. Using standing waves excited on the transducer, this manipulation directly atomizes, stirs, or even emulsifies droplets, making it suitable for droplet-based micro total analysis systems (μTAS). We studied the features of droplet atomization and emulsification using a prototype surface acoustic wave device, and integrated manipulation on a single wafer together with transport technology to demonstrate integrated droplet manipulation. The demonstration using the integrated device demonstrates three droplet operations on one device, conveyance, merging, and atomization.