Flexible/bendable acoustofluidics based on thin-film surface acoustic waves on thin aluminum sheets

Wang, Y. et al. (2021) Flexible/bendable acoustofluidics based on thin-film surface acoustic waves on thin aluminum sheets. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 13(14), pp. 16978-16986. (doi: 10.1021/acsami.0c22576) (PMID:33813830)

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the acoustofluidic performance of zinc oxide (ZnO) thin-film surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices fabricated on flexible and bendable thin aluminum (Al) foils/sheets with thicknesses from 50 to 1500 μm. Directional transport of fluids along these flexible/bendable surfaces offers potential applications for the next generation of microfluidic systems, wearable biosensors and soft robotic control. Theoretical calculations indicate that bending under strain levels up to 3000 με causes a small frequency shift and amplitude change (<0.3%) without degrading the acoustofluidic performance. Through systematic investigation of the effects of the Al sheet thickness on the microfluidic actuation performance for the bent devices, we identify the optimum thickness range to both maintain efficient microfluidic actuation and enable significant deformation of the substrate, providing a guide to design such devices. Finally, we demonstrate efficient liquid transportation across a wide range of substrate geometries including inclined, curved, vertical, inverted, and lateral positioned surfaces using a 200 μm thick Al sheet SAW device.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LZ19E050002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51875521, 51605485, and 51575487), the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC EP/P018998/1, NetworkPlus in Digitalised Surface Manufacturing-EP/S036180/1, and UK Fluidic Network-EP/N032861/1-Special Interest Group in Acoustofluidics), and International Exchange Grant (IEC/NSFC/201078) through Royal Society and NFSC.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Tao, Dr Ran and Reboud, Dr Julien
• Authors: Wang, Y., Zhang, Q., Tao, R., Xie, J., Canyelles-Pericas, P., Torun, H., Reboud, J., McHale, G., Dodd, L. E., Yang, X., Luo, J., Wu, Q., and Fu, Y.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering
• Journal Name: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• ISSN: 1944-8244
• ISSN (Online): 1944-8252
• Published Online: 04 April 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society
• First Published: First published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 13(14): 16978-16986
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License