Influence of the Ground Electrode on the Dynamics of Electrowetting

Abstract

The ability to manipulate a liquid meniscus using electrowetting has many applications. In any electrowetting design, at least two electrodes are required: one forms the field to change the contact angle and the other functions as a ground electrode. The contribution of the ground electrode (GE) to the dynamics of electrowetting has not yet been thoroughly investigated. In this paper, we discovered that with a bare ground electrode, the contact angle of a sessile drop increases instead of decreases when a direct current (DC) voltage varying from zero to the threshold voltage is applied. This phenomenon is opposite to what occurs when the GE is coated with a dielectric, where the contact-angle change follows the Lippmann–Young equation above the threshold voltage of electrowetting. However, this behaviour is not observed with either a dielectric-coated electrode using direct current (DC) or a bare ground electrode using alternating current (AC) voltage electrowetting. This study explains this phenomenon with finite element simulation and theory. From previous research work, the ground electrode configuration is inconsistent. In some studies, the ground electrode is exposed to water; in other studies, the ground electrode is covered with dielectric. This study identified that an exposed ground electrode is not required in electrowetting. Moreover, this research work suggests that for applications where precise control of the contact angle is paramount, a dielectric-coated ground electrode should be used since it prevents the increase in the contact angle when increasing the applied potential from zero to the threshold voltage. This study also identified that contact angle hysteresis is lower with a Cytop-coated ground electrode and DC voltage than with a bare ground electrode using AC or DC voltages.