Microfluidic flow switching via localized acoustic streaming controlled by surface acoustic waves

We propose an acoustic flow switching device that utilizes high-frequency surface acoustic waves (SAWs) produced by a slanted-finger interdigitated transducer. As the acoustic field induced by the SAWs was attenuated in the fluid, it produced an acoustic streaming flow in the form of a pair of symmetrical microvortices, which induced flow switching between two fluid streams in a controlled manner. The microfluidic device was composed of a piezoelectric substrate attached to a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel having an H-shaped junction that connected two fluid streams in the middle. The two immiscible fluids, separated by the PDMS wall, flowed in parallel, briefly came in contact at the junction, and separated again into the downstream microchannels. The acoustic streaming flow induced by the SAWs rotated the fluid streams within the microchannel cross-section, thereby altering the respective positions of the two fluids and directing them into the opposite flow paths. The characteristics of the flow switching mechanism were investigated by tuning the input voltage and the flowrates. On-demand acoustic flow switching was successfully achieved without additional moving parts inside the microchannel. This technique may be useful for fundamental studies that integrate complex experimental platforms into a single chip.