Non-Contact Micromanipulation Using an Ultrasonic Standing Wave Field

Teruyuki Kozuka, Toru Tuziuti and Hideto Mitome

National Industrial Research Institute of Nagoya
Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, MITI
1- 1 Hirate-cho, Kita-ku, Nagoya 462, Japan

Toshio Fukuda
Department of Micro System Engineering, Nagoya University,
Furo-cho. Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-0 1, Japan

ABSTRACT non-contact micromanipulation technique [5-81.

Transportation of particles using acoustic radiation
pressure in water is studied to d e v e l o p non-contact
micromanipulation technique. The radiation pressure traps
particles suspended in water to form agglomeration every half
wavelength i n a standing wave field. Usiing two sets of
standing wave fields crossing to each other, the shape of
agglomeration was varied. Applying focused acoustic radiation
pressure of traveling wave, a limited part of trapped particles
was transported for long distance. Using a concave transducer
to generate a standing wave, trapped particles were transported
stably along the sound beam axis by changing the ultrasonic
frequency. The resolution of transportation to the order of
submicron is possible to achieve. Furthermore, the column of
trapped particles was separated and transported oppositely by
using an appropriate value of frequency increment. Although
intense ultrasound generates acoustic streaming, it was possible
to avoid its influence using a burst wave.
1. INTRODUCTION
Non-contact micromanipulation technique is needed to
develop micromachines. This technique is fundamental and
will be applied to many fields such as manipulation of
biological cells and blood constituents in biotechnology, and
fine powder in material engineering. Since friction on a surface
The present paper describes experimental results of
acoustic manipulation of micro particles suspended in water
using radiation pressure of ultrasound.
2. DYNAMIC ACTION OF ULTRASOUND
2.1 Force Due to Acoustic Radiation Pressure
Propagation of ultrasound in a fluid is a flow of sound
energy. If an object is placed to interrupt it, the object disturbs
the uniformity of the sound energy field and receives acoustic
radiation piressure to be pushed in the direction of sound
propagation. 'The force due to acoustic radiation pressure
acting on a sphere with radius a put in a field of sound energy
density E is given by [3]
F = nu2E 5 .
Yp is a complicated function depending on the characteristics of
material and ka (=27~7lh) where h is acoustic wavelength in the
medium. For a case of one-dimensional standing wave field
generated by interference of two plain waves of amplitude A in
a medium with sound speed CO, eq. (1) is rearranged as [9, IO]
A*
F = V [ &+ (1 - y)]k--,sin2(kx
POCO
- z)
n
, (2)

of material and viscosity of a fluid play important roles in a

micro region, simple reduction i n size of conventional (3)
mechanisms may cause serious problems. Allthough particle
trapping or handling techniques using electrostatic fforce [ 11 and
radiation pressure of laser light [2] have been investigated so Amplitude of
sound pressure A /2
far, there still remains s o m e problems: prevention of
electrolysis at electrodes, difficulties due to transmission and
n\ !---!
refraction of light, etc.
If ultrasound traveling in a fluid is interrupted by an b
c
object, force to push the object is generated in the direction of 0
-
a,
c
the sound propagation. This is called acoustic radiation a,
pressure and the force due to it can be applied to an object a
without contact [3]. Although this force is weak, convergence
of ultrasound generates intense force acting in a micro region
[4]. A resonant standing wave field between transducer and a
reflector also generates strong and stable force field distributed Antinode Antinode
every half wavelength. Hence this force may be applied to FIG 1. Radiation pressure in a standing wave field

0-7803-2985-6/96 $5.00 0 1996 IEEE 435

 ~

V=(4/3)7cu3 is the volume of small sphere, r;pIpo, and and p

are compressibilities of the medium and the sphere,
respectively. po and p are densities of the medium and the
sphere, respectively. Equation (2) means that the force due to
acoustic radiation pressure changes in a cycle of half
wavelength. The particles are trapped at nodes of sound
pressure distribution generated every half wavelength as shown
in Fig. I . The positions of nodes and antinodes move on the
sound beam axis as the frequency changes.

2.2 Focused Sound Field

Since acoustic radiation force is governed by the
FIG 2 . Schlieren image of the focused sound field generated by the
distribution of sound field, the range of action of radiation force concave spherical transducer.
can be controlled through sound field. Ultrasound is easily
converged using a concave spherical transducer or an acoustic
lens. Figure 2 shows an optically visualized sound field
generated by a concave spherical transducer of 20 mm in
diameter, 40" in radius of curvature and 5.6 MHz in
frequency using a schlieren system. The sound field is focused
I

I Reflector
Water
n
n
and very intense at a narrow region near the center of curvature.
The sound pressure distributes concentrically in the focal plane
n

-
perpendicular to the sound beam axis. The diameter of the first A=0.86mm
n
nodal circle Id in the plain is given by
f=l.75MHz
- 4 Transducer I
(4) .20mm'
F I G . 3 . E x p e r i m e n t a l a p p a r a t u s f o r t r a p p i n g of p a r t i c l e s i n a n
ultrasonic standing wave field.
where R is radius of the transducer and $is radius of curvature.
It is known that 84% of total acoustic power passes through this
narrow region 11 I]. Hence, if the focal length of a transducer is
the same order as the radius of the transducer, most of the
sound energy is concentrated in the narrow region of the order
of wavelength and selective action of acoustic radiation force is
realized using high-frequency ultrasound.

3. EXPERIMENTS

3.1 Trapping of Particles in a Standing Wave Field

Figure 3 shows a setup of experimental apparatus. A
transducer of a piezoelectric ceramic plane disk 20 mm in
diameter and a reflector of a ceramic plate was set at 30 mm
apart in a transparent water bath and transmitted 1.75-MHz F I G . 4 . Alumina particles trapped in the ultrasonic standing wave field.
ultrasound (0.86 mm in wavelength). A standing wave field
was generated between them. Alumina suspension of 16 pm in
mean diameter was poured with a pipette into the sound field.
Figure 4 shows trapped and agglomerated alumina particles
near the sound beam axis. Trapping is observed every half
wavelength but it occurs not only along the sound beam axis
but also at several points around it. Figure 5 shows an optically
visualized sound field. It was hard to control the position of
agglomerated particles using the plane transducer, because they
spread in a plane and were sensitive to slight changes of the
sound field.

3.2 Agglomeration in Orthogonal Standing Wave Fields

The form of agglomeration was a disk in the above
experiments. If plural standing wave fields combine, it would FlG.5 Schlieren image of the ultrasonic standing wave field generated
be possible to make a complex shape of agglomeration. Two by the plain-type transducer.

436
standing wave fields of plane transducers were generated
crossing at a right angle to each other and the ratio of voltages
applied to each transducer was changedl. Details of
agglomeration near the crossing point are shown in Fig. 6.
They transmitted 1.75-MHz ultrasound and the distance
between agglomerations was 0.43 mm. (a) is the case when
vertical force is dominant compared to the horizontal one. If
both forces are comparable to each other, the agglomeration
forms grid as seen in (b). As the voltage applied to the
horizontal transducer increases, the agglomeration changes like
(c).
3.3 TransportationUsing Focused Radiation Pressure
Transportation for a long distance is realized using a
traveling wave field. Although the acoustic radiation pressure
of a traveling wave is weak compared to that of a standing
wave, convergence of ultrasound will generate intense force
acting in a micro region. Since ultrasound is easily focused
using a concave transducer, selective manipulation would be
possible. Figure 7 shows the action of focused radiation
pressure of traveling ultrasound on particles trapped in a
vertical standing wave field. Focused ultrasound of 5.60 MHz
cw was radiated from a concave transducer of 20 mm in diameter
and 40 mm in focal length set in the horizontal direction. When
the focal point coincided with trapped particles, only limited
Reflector
(a)Vertical > Horizontal
FIG.6. Changing in the shape of agglomeration of particles depending on the ratio of vertical and horizontal force.
FIG.7. Transportation of trapped particles applying focused radiation pressure of traveling ultrasound
437
particles were filliped. This force can be used to exert intense
force on a specific micro object and to transport it.
3.4 Transportation Using a Focused Standing Wave Field
Standing wave field is also established using a concave
transducer and placing a reflector at the focal point. Although
the intense sound field to trap particles was limited to a narrow
region near the focal point, particles were agglomerated one-
dimensionally along the sound-beam axis near the reflector.
Changing frequency altered the distance between agglomerated
particles and {.heparticles were transported.
Figure I3 shows behavior of the trapped particles for the
frequency changes from f to f + A f . Distance between
agglomerated particles is half wavelength, and it varies as the
frequency changes. When the frequency increases, trapped
particles move upward. The distance of transportation can be
estimated as follows. The distance of the n-th agglomerated
particles from the reflector is given by
1, = ( 2 n - l);t/4
-- (2n -- l>C, / 4 f , (5)
where f is frequency of ultrasound. When the frequency
changes from f to f+ Af, the n-th particle is transported from
l , ( f >to l,(f+ 4f)‘
or,
(b)Vertical = Horizontal (c)Vertical < Horizontal

The transporting distance A 1, increases with n. If Af is much
less than f, A 1, is proportional to Af and inversely proportional
to the square off.
Figure 9 is experimental results showing displacements of
agglomerated particles when the frequency changed from 4.00
MHz to 8.00 MHz with 0.01-MHz step. The transducer was
the same concave spherical one as that used in Fig. 2. It was
driven using a burst wave with duty ratio of 10 % and interval
of 1 msec. The upper particles near the reflector did not move
so much, while the lower ones far from the reflector were
transported much longer distance. As shown in Fig. 8 and eq.
(6), the transporting distance is the summation of the variation
of the distance between agglomerated particles and it depends
on the number of particles from the reflector. The farthest
trapped particles were transported 1.83 mm in the present
experiment. T h e resolution of transportation distance
corresponding to the used frequency step of 0.01 MHz was
about 9.1 pm to 2.3 pm depending on the position. Therefore,
f f+A!
..I.....
c......... > .....................
.....
1.
...............
.......................
Transducer Transducer
FIG.8. Behavior of the particles as the frequency changes.
4.0MHz 4.5MHz
FlG.9. Transportation of the agglomerated particles due to the frequency change.
the resolution to the order of sub-micron can be achieved easily
by reducing the frequency step.
3.5 Direction of the Transportation
Changing the value of frequency increment Af may alter
the direction of transportation for some part of the
agglomerated column and separate it. The direction of
transportation i s determined by the relation between
displacement due to frequency change and agglomeration
interval, as shown in Fig. 8. If the displacement of n-th particle
caused by the frequency change of AA which is given by eq.
(6) and depends on n, is larger than the half of agglomeration
interval at the new frequency, the nearest stable point is not the
n-th node but the (n+l)-th node and the particle moves in the
direction opposite t o the former particles. Since the
agglomeration interval is given by the half wavelength, a
condition for the n-th particle to move toward the reflector is
Al, < A 14, (7)
or
Af < f I ( 2 n - I ) ,
where h' is the wavelength corresponding to the new frequency
f + A f . This technique makes it possible to pick up a certain
particle trapped in the column selectively.
Figure 10 is experimental results showing the separation
of column for frequency changes from 5.00 MHz to 6.00 MHz
with various frequency increments. There is the reflector at the
top of each figure. When the frequency increment Af is 0.05
,lyi
MHz as shown in (a), all the particles in the figure move toward
the reflector. But, when AfiO.10 MHz in (b) and A 6 0 . 2 0
i..- MHz in (c), some lower particles were transported oppositely.
If Af=O.lO MHz, the 26th and the latter particles from the
reflector move in the opposite direction arising separation of
the column as estimated by eq. (8). When AfiO.20 MHz, the
separation occurs at the 13th particle.
5.0MHz 5.5MHz 6 OMH7 6 5MH7
438
 4. DISCUSSION

Acoustic radiation pressure acts not only on the object,

but also on the bulk of propagating medium [l2]. Then the
medium flows along the sound beam axis. It is called acoustic
streaming. Figure 1 1 shows trapped particles and loci of
particles flowing with the medium. Suspended particles move
upward with the medium fast, and the column of trapped
particles in the nodes of sound field curves due to the acoustic
streaming. To tirap particles stably, the influence of acoustic
streaming should be minimized. The principal forces acting on
the particles other than the gravity and buoyancy are the force
of the acoustic radiation pressure in the standing wave field and
the force due to the acoustic streaming. The acoustic radiation
pressure is directly proportional to the square of the sound
pressure amplitude, while the force of acoustic streaming is
related to the time averaged value of the square of the sound
pressure. If thie acoustic streaming is too fast, it may take away
(a) Af=0.05 MHz the trapped particles. Then, i t is desirable that the trapping
force is large and the streaming is slow.
In this experiment, a burst wave was used to settle the
problem. Figure 12 shows the relation between these forces
with the changes of duty ratio of the burst wave, or the ratio of
active period in the interval. When the duty ratio changes, the
acoustic radiation plressurz is constant regardless of its value,
but the force due to acoustic streaming is proportional to it.
Then, if the transducer is driven by a burst wave, it is possible
to trap the particles suppressing influence of acoustic
streaming. Figure 13 shows experimental results of changes of
the number of trapped agglomeration for various duty ratios. In
the experiment, alumina suspension was poured into the
standing wave field driven at 30 Vpp. After particles were
trapped in the field, the voltage applied to the transducer was
decreased gradually. Then the particles trapped at a lower
position left from the column with decrease of the voltage.
Figure 13 shows the cases of various duty ratios: 100% (cw),
(b) Af=0.10 MHz 50%, 20%,10%7,5% and 2%. When the duty ratio is larger than
I O % , their cuirves are the same. The observation of the
experiments showed that the acoustic streaming became slower
with decreasing thle duty ratio, and the burst wave worked well
to trap particles avoiding influence of acoustic streaming. But,

(c) A F 0.20 MHz

FIG.10. Separation of the agglomeration column depending on the
frequency increment. FIG.11. Trapped particles and loci of flowing particles

439
if the duty ratio is too small, it is not possible to trap particles,
because they begins to move while the ultrasound pauses. In Large 1 /

/
this experiment, 5% and 2% correspond to this case. Namely, m
- a,
there is an optimum value in the duty ratio for the trapping of 0
'5 Trapping Force by
particles. Kl
Acoustic Radiation Pressure
a
5. CONCLUSIONS 0,
e
.-c
0
Utilization of ultrasound to exert force without contact a
a
has been studied experimentally. It was possible to trap 2
0
particles in an ultrasonic standing wave field. The shape of LL Acoustic Streaming
agglomeration was varied using orthogonal standing wave
fields. Applying focused ultrasound on the trapped particles. it Small Large
acted only in a specific region. Standing wave field is also Duty Ratio
established using a concave transducer and placing a reflector FIG. 12. Relation between forces
at the focal point. It was possible to trap particles one- 7n
I"
dimensionally along the sound beam axis of this standing wave -0- 100%
field. The trapped particles were transported by changing the v) 60 * 50%
ultrasonic frequency. The resolution of transportation was - -a- 20%
estimated t o be possible to achieve submicron order by 50 + lOY0
a
reducing the frequency increment. It was also shown that the ? 40
column of trapped particles were separated and transported 0
+ 2%
oppositely by using an appropriate value of frequency 30
increment. Although intense ultrasound generates acoustic
streaming, it was possible to avoid its influence using a burst
wave.
5z o O [ I
= 10
I
1 1 1
0
3 6 9 12 1 5 18 21 24 27 30
REFERENCES
Voltage Applied t o the transducer (Vp-p)
FIG.13 Changes of the number of trapped agglomeratlon.
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and K. Yoshikawa, "Noncontact Transportation of DNA
Molecule by Dielectrophoretic Force," 6th Int. Sympo. Micro [7] M. Takeuchi, H. Abe and K. Yamanouchi, "Ultrasonic
Machine & Human Science Proc. (1 995) pp. 145- 152. Micromanipulation of Small Particles in Liquid Using VHF-
Range Leaky Wave Transducers," 1994 IEEE Ultrasonics
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Fractionation of Small Particles in Liquid by Ultrasound," Jpn.
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Press, Tokyo, 1984) pp.59-69 [in Japanese].
[9] W. L. Nyborg, "Radiation Pressure on a Small Rigid
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Acoustical Society of Japan, Chiba, March (1994) pp.1011-
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[6] T. Kozuka, T. Tuziuti, H. Mitome and T. Fukuda, "One-
Dimensional Transportation of Particles Using an Ultrasonic [ 121 H. Mitome, T. Kozuka, T. Tuziuti, "Effects of Nonlinearity
Standing Wave," 6th Int. Sympo. Micro Machine & Human in Development of Acoustic Streaming," Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.,
Science Proc. (1995) pp. 179- 185. V01.34 (1995) pp.2284-2589.

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