Preface

This book deals with the physics of micro-drops and its application to micro-
electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), especially digital microuidics systems,
and to some extent to droplet microuidics. Many of the physical principles on
which this book is based have not been recently discovered; they were stated
between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
Interface and capillarity laws are based on the successive theories of Laplace,
Young, Dupre, Wenzel, Cassie and Baxter, Jurin, Concus and Finn between
the years 1780 and 1940; the electrowetting eect was discovered by Lippmann
at the end of the 19th century, and dielectrophoresis by Pohl in the middle of
the 20th century.
However, all these theories have been recently subject to new attention and
increasing interest with the development of microuidics. This development
has been rst promoted by the generalization of inkjet printing and, to
some extent, by the space industry where droplets are used to feed micro-
motors; and more recently by the formidable expansion of biotechnology. This
expansion follows the development of microfabrication techniques pioneered
by the microelectronic industry. Microsystems like MEMS and labs-on-chips
(LOC) have been built to address the many goals of biotechnology, from bio-
analysis and recognition, to DNA, protein and cell handling, and to screening
and drug discovery. All these systems make extensive use of microuidic
principles, like microows, digital, or droplet microuidics.
Hence, the early interface and capillarity laws have been revisited and
further developed to conform to their new environment of microsystems.
Israelachvili has worked on molecular interactions and improved the notion of
interface, de Gennes has claried the notion of surface tension and developed
an understanding of the mechanical behavior of colloids; Lippmanns law
has been revisited by Berge to give birth to digital microuidic systems.
Pohls dielectrophoresis has been re-interpreted by Jones. Coupling between
hydrodynamic and electric forces has given birth to electro-osmotic actuation.
Interactions between a force eld (electric, acoustic) and a liquid-uid interface
have been investigated, and the modeling of the shape and deformation of
interfaces has seen considerable progress with the energy minimization approach
for static problems and the volume of uid (VOF) and level set approaches
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for dynamic problems. A huge volume of new information has been produced
covering all these domains.
Because they constitute the rst microuidic approach, microows
continuous ows in micro-channelshave been the subject of hundreds
of publications. Many books have been published concerning the dierent
applications of microows for micro-electro-mechanical systems MEMS and
labs-on-chips LOC. The situation is very dierent for the techniques more
recently developed using micro-drops instead of continuous microows.
Although many publications and some reviews in journals are addressing these
techniques, a comprehensive book is still lacking. This book is intended to ll
this gap.
In an introductory chapter, the dierent types of microuidics are presented
and categorized, specifying the place of digital and droplet microuidics in the
global picture of todays microuidics.
In the second chapter, the notions of interface and surface tension are exposed,
and the theory of capillarity is presented. Laplaces, Youngs, and Jurins laws
are derived and it is shown how they are used for the determination of the
shapes of interfaces in complex geometries. It is shown how the principle of
energy minimization governs the shape of a static interface.
These prerequisites constitute the basis of the third chapter, which deals
with the physics of micro-drops and their behavior in microsystems with
either lyophilic, lyophobicor bothsurfaces, textured and patterned surfaces
comporting micro-pillars, aretes, and grooves. Especially, the importance of the
pinning of droplets by sharp edges is pointed out.
The fourth chapter is devoted to the theory of electrowetting, with a focus on
electrowetting on dielectrics (EWOD). In spite of its apparent simplicity, it is
shown that the Lippmann law hides complex physical phenomena, some being
still debated. The most important constraints for the functioning of EWOD
actuation are analyzed: rst, the saturation limit of the electrowetting eect
at large voltages; this phenomenon is still poorly understood and the dierent
explanations that have been proposed are discussed. Second, it is shown how
contact angle hysteresis hinders electrowetting at low voltages. Finally, the
limitations imposed by the breakdown limit of the dielectric are discussed.
Global applications of electrowetting theory are presented in Chapter 5.
The mechanisms enabling the basic operations on an electrowetting on
dielectrics (EWOD)-based chip are investigated: these operations consist of
moving, merging, splitting, mixing, and diluting droplets on EWOD-based
microsystems. Based on these results, fabrication and design constraints are
discussed.
Applications of EWOD-based microchips to biotechnology and biology are
the subject of Chapter 6. Some typical applications in the dierent domains
of sample collection, DNA analysis, DNA repair, protein analysis, and cell
handling have been chosen amongst all the possible applications. Because it
is a good test for comparison with other systems (conventional and continuous
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microuidics), a special focus is made on DNA analysis using the polymerase
chain reaction (PCR).
Chapter 7 is devoted to the study of the behavior of chemical components
on EWOD-based chips, especially of organic solvents and ionic liquids. The
maneuverability of these dierent liquids on the substrate of a microsystem
is analyzed, and it is shown how these carrier uids can be used to realize
controlled chemical reactions in micro-drops.
Acoustic wave actuation of droplets constitutes another mode of actuation,
and Chapter 8 presents its principle. It is shown how it can be used to
design a digital droplet microsystem. Applications to biology, biotechnology
and electronics are discussed. Chapter 9 is an introduction to another approach
to the use of micro-drops, based on the merging of microows in T-junctions or
ow-focusing devices (FFD) to form controlled micro-droplets transported by
the continuous phase. First, the physical behavior of two-phase ow droplets
and plugs is investigated, with a focus on plugs moving in capillary tubes, and
on immiscible uids owing in parallel. Pressure loss is determined in both
cases. Finally, we analyze how droplets are produced in T-junctions or FFD
and what parameters control the size and reproducibility of these droplets.
The Epilog (Chapter 10) reects on the potential of digital microuidics, and
future trends and perspectives are discussed.
This book has been conceived and written to enable the reader to acquire
a solid understanding of the physical behavior of droplets in complex
microsystems, and a profound knowledge of the functioning of digital and
droplet microuidic systems.
Jean Berthier
Grenoble, France
December 2007