Demonstration of Continuous Electrowetting Actuation

Abstract

Electrowetting is the change in apparent surface energy of a liquid in an applied electric field. It has shown great promise in diverse applications including lab-on-a-chip and electronic displays. The electrowetting response is typically considered independent of the actuation voltage polarity. This paper describes a new approach that achiees actuation in different directions for positive and negative voltage polarities using the electrochemical characteristics of aluminum electrodes. This paper presents a concept for continuous actuation of a droplet using a single electrode and DC voltage based on this effect. Initial experiments demonstrate that droplet motion is possible. Measurements of voltage drop across aluminum electrodes confirms the polarity-dependent response of the electrodes.