Fluidic switch using an elastic actuator due to induced charge electro-osmosis combined with a natural convection pump

Abstract

Abstract An integrated fluid circuit consisting of a pump and a fluidic switch is a basic unit in a microfluidic circuit. Here, we propose a fluidic switch using an elastic actuator due to an induced charge electro-osmosis (ICEO) combined with a natural convection (NC) pump and experimentally demonstrate the switching behavior between the two branch fluidic channels in a flow state generated by the NC pump. In particular, we experimentally demonstrate that the NC pump can generate a net flow of ∼0.2 mm s−1 in the circular channel having branch channels, and the ICEO fluidic switch can change the flow state between the branch channels within ∼3 s. Our prototype system should contribute to innovative microfluidic systems in the future.