Field-effect flow control for microfabricated fluidic networks
The magnitude and direction of the electro-osmotic flow (EOF) inside a microfabricated fluid channel can be controlled by a perpendicular electric field of 1.5 megavolts per centimeter generated by a voltage of only 50 volts. A microdevice called a "flowFET," with functionality comparable to that of a field-effect transistor (FET) in microelectronics, has been realized. Two flowFETs integrated with a channel junction have been used to generate opposite flows inside a single EOF-pumped channel, thus illustrating the potential of the flowFET as a controlling and switching element in microfluidic networks.
Schasfoort
RB
MESA(+) Research Institute, University of Twente, Post Office Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, Netherlands.
Schlautmann
S
Hendrikse
J
van den Berg A