Advisor: Boris Khusid
Manipulation of particles in water-based suspensions using dielectrophoresis is becoming a powerful technique in the microbiological studies. For particle species separation, high-gradient electric fields with strengths on the order of kV/mm and frequencies greater than 10MHz are needed.
The study of dielectrophoretic phenomena in water-based suspensions is greatly assisted by the application of micro-fabrication technologies. Micro-channels with dielectrophoretic gates manufactured using the SWIFTTM process developed by Sandia National Labs are only 7 microns high and inexpensive signal generators can be used to produce the required high strength high frequency electric fields. Furthermore, the channels are manufactured from biologically and chemically inert materials with high mechanical strength. This presentation will overview the theory of dielectrophoretic gate operation and shows some dielectrophoretic gate designs. Experimental results will be briefly discussed.