Dynamics of electro-wetting droplet transport

A model is formulated to describe the dynamics of electro-wetting-induced transport of liquid droplets. The velocity of droplet transport as a function of actuation voltage is derived. The operating parameters include the viscosity of the droplet and the medium through which it actuates, contact-line friction, system geometry, and surface tension. Numerical coefficients are extracted from experimental data to represent the effect of operating parameters on electro-wetting dynamics. The power dissipation of droplet transport is analyzed which reveals the key limiting factors for device operation as well the effect of scaling on device power requirements. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.