Surface Tension Effects on MEMS Components Dynamics With Liquid Interfaces Available to Purchase

An analytical model has been developed to investigate the rotational dynamics of a rigid microplate positioned at a liquid-liquid interface in a closed microfluidic channel completely filled with two immiscible liquids. The model considers two-dimensional microwaves that develop at the interface between two isotropic liquids with different densities, viscosities and surface tensions. Interfacial tension occuring at the liquid-liquid-solid perimeter line around the microplate can magnify the microplate’s response amplitude by orders of magnitude depending on microwave amplitudes and frequencies, as well as on microplate and microbeam principal dimensions. Such effect can be used to control the sensitivity of microsensor instrumentation as well as to enhance a microsensor’s output signal.