Frequency-dependent electromechanics of aqueous liquids: electrowetting and dielectrophoresis

Electrowetting on dielectric and dielectrophoretic electromechanical mechanisms dominate microfluidic actuation in the low- and high-frequency limits, respectively. The frequency-dependent relationship between these two mechanisms has been clarified by the Maxwell stress tensor and a simple RC circuit model. In this paper, we report extensive height-of-rise measurements obtained with vertical, parallel, dielectrically coated electrodes to test this relationship using deionized water and solutions containing sugar and salt. For DC and AC (20 Hz to 20 kHz) voltage magnitudes up to approximately 150 V-rms, the data are highly reproducible and, within experimental error, consistent with the square-law predictions of the model. Eventually as voltage is increased, a saturation phenomenon is observed which exhibits a weak dependence on frequency and is probably correlated to contact angle saturation.