A Low-Cost Electrowetting on Dielectric-Driven Micropump*

A high-performance and reliable microfluidic reconfigurable radio frequency (MRRF) device has been a dream for over a decade. Electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) driven micropumps may be able to accomplish it. RF configuration can be achieved by microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches, MEMS capacitors, material loadings methods, varactors, PIN diodes, or ferroelectric varactors. Although these methods have an excellent speed, cost, and size, they have limitations in power handling capability, radiation efficiency, and range of frequency tunability. An alternative to address these drawbacks is using the microfluidic device to reconfigure the RF signals. However, the current microfluidic-based RF devices have been primarily based on mechanical micropumps such as diaphragm micropumps, rotary micropumps, and peristaltic micropumps, which require expensive clean-room fabrication methods. In addition, they are limited in terms of size. To overcome these issues, for the first time we introduce a low-cost EWOD-driven micro pump that can actuate an RF switch. We will present an analytical model to predict the system flow rate and pressure, and consider the performance limits in the context of MRRF devices.