Field-Effect Flow Control for Microfabricated Fluidic Networks

Abstract

The magnitude and direction of the electro-osmotic flow (EOF) inside a microfabricated fluid channel can be controlled by a perpendicular electric field of 1.5 megavolts per centimeter generated by a voltage of only 50 volts. A microdevice called a “flowFET,” with functionality comparable to that of a field-effect transistor (FET) in microelectronics, has been realized. Two flowFETs integrated with a channel junction have been used to generate opposite flows inside a single EOF-pumped channel, thus illustrating the potential of the flowFET as a controlling and switching element in microfluidic networks.