Abstract
Small-scale pumps will be the heartbeat of many future micro/
nanoscale platforms. However, the integration of small-scale pumps
is presently hampered by limited flow rate with respect to the input
power, and their rather complicated fabrication processes. These
issues arise as many conventional pumping effects require intricate
moving elements. Here, we demonstrate a system that we call the liquid metal enabled pump, for driving a range of liquids without
mechanical moving parts, upon the application of modest electric
field. This pump incorporates a droplet of liquid metal, which induces liquid flow at high flow rates, yet with exceptionally low power consumption by electrowetting/deelectrowetting at the metal surface. We present theory explaining this pumping mechanism and show that the operation is fundamentally different from other existing pumps. The presented liquid metal enabled pump is both efficient and simple, and thus has the potential to fundamentally advance the field of microfluidics.
nanoscale platforms. However, the integration of small-scale pumps
is presently hampered by limited flow rate with respect to the input
power, and their rather complicated fabrication processes. These
issues arise as many conventional pumping effects require intricate
moving elements. Here, we demonstrate a system that we call the liquid metal enabled pump, for driving a range of liquids without
mechanical moving parts, upon the application of modest electric
field. This pump incorporates a droplet of liquid metal, which induces liquid flow at high flow rates, yet with exceptionally low power consumption by electrowetting/deelectrowetting at the metal surface. We present theory explaining this pumping mechanism and show that the operation is fundamentally different from other existing pumps. The presented liquid metal enabled pump is both efficient and simple, and thus has the potential to fundamentally advance the field of microfluidics.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3304-3309 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| Volume | 111 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| Early online date | 18 Feb 2014 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 4 Mar 2014 |