Search Results
Patterning and control of the nanostructure in plasma thin films with acoustic waves: mechanical vs. electrical polarization effects
2021, García-Valenzuela, Aurelio, Fakhfouri, Armaghan, Oliva-Ramírez, Manuel, Rico-Gavira, Victor, Rojas, Teresa Cristina, Alvarez, Rafael, Menzel, Siegfried B., Palmero, Alberto, Winkler, Andreas, González-Elipe, Agustín R.
Nanostructuration and 2D patterning of thin films are common strategies to fabricate biomimetic surfaces and components for microfluidic, microelectronic or photonic applications. This work presents the fundamentals of a surface nanotechnology procedure for laterally tailoring the nanostructure and crystalline structure of thin films that are plasma deposited onto acoustically excited piezoelectric substrates. Using magnetron sputtering as plasma technique and TiO2 as case example, it is demonstrated that the deposited films depict a sub-millimetre 2D pattern that, characterized by large lateral differences in nanostructure, density (up to 50%), thickness, and physical properties between porous and dense zones, reproduces the wave features distribution of the generated acoustic waves (AW). Simulation modelling of the AW propagation and deposition experiments carried out without plasma and under alternative experimental conditions reveal that patterning is not driven by the collision of ad-species with mechanically excited lattice atoms of the substrate, but emerges from their interaction with plasma sheath ions locally accelerated by the AW-induced electrical polarization field developed at the substrate surface and growing film. The possibilities of the AW activation as a general approach for the tailored control of nanostructure, pattern size, and properties of thin films are demonstrated through the systematic variation of deposition conditions and the adjustment of AW operating parameters.
Correction: Selective particle and cell capture in a continuous flow using micro-vortex acoustic streaming
2017, Collins, David J., Khoo, Bee Luan, Ma, Zhichao, Winkler, Andreas, Weser, Robert, Schmidt, Hagen, Han, Jongyoon, Ai, Ye
The authors regret that a citation to a relevant paper was missed. The following sentence and reference (ref. 1 shown below) should be added in the Introduction after the sentence ending "...of the applied flow rate.5,37": "For example, Lee et al. acoustically oscillate air/liquid interfaces using a ∼50 kHz piezoelectric transducer to produce acoustic streaming fields for size-based separation of cells and particles".1 The Royal Society of Chemistry apologises for these errors and any consequent inconvenience to authors and readers.
Acoustic resonance effects and cavitation in SAW aerosol generation
2023, Roudini, Mehrzad, Manuel Rosselló, Juan, Manor, Ofer, Ohl, Claus-Dieter, Winkler, Andreas
The interaction of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) with liquids enables the production of aerosols with adjustable droplet sizes in the micrometer range expelled from a very compact source. Understanding the nonlinear acousto-hydrodynamics of SAWs with a regulated micro-scale liquid film is essential for acousto-microfluidics platforms, particularly aerosol generators. In this study, we demonstrate the presence of micro-cavitation in a MHz-frequency SAW aerosol generation platform, which is touted as a leap in aerosol technology with versatile application fields including biomolecule inhalation therapy, micro-chromatography and spectroscopy, olfactory displays, and material deposition. Using analysis methods with high temporal and spatial resolution, we demonstrate that SAWs stabilize spatially arranged liquid micro-domes atop the generator's surface. Our experiments show that these liquid domes become acoustic resonators with highly fluctuating pressure amplitudes that can even nucleate cavitation bubbles, as supported by analytical modeling. The observed fragmentation of liquid domes indicates the participation of three droplet generation mechanisms, including cavitation and capillary-wave instabilities. During aerosol generation, the cavitation bubbles contribute to the ejection of droplets from the liquid domes and also explain observed microstructural damage patterns on the chip surface eventually caused by cavitation-based erosion.
Blood platelet enrichment in mass-producible surface acoustic wave (SAW) driven microfluidic chips
2019, Richard, Cynthia, Fakhfouri, Armaghan, Colditz, Melanie, Striggow, Friedrich, Kronstein-Wiedemann, Romy, Tonn, Torsten, Medina-Sánchez, Mariana, Schmidt, Oliver G., Gemming, Thomas, Winkler, Andreas
The ability to separate specific biological components from cell suspensions is indispensable for liquid biopsies, and for personalized diagnostics and therapy. This paper describes an advanced surface acoustic wave (SAW) based device designed for the enrichment of platelets (PLTs) from a dispersion of PLTs and red blood cells (RBCs) at whole blood concentrations, opening new possibilities for diverse applications involving cell manipulation with high throughput. The device is made of patterned SU-8 photoresist that is lithographically defined on the wafer scale with a new proposed methodology. The blood cells are initially focused and subsequently separated by an acoustic radiation force (ARF) applied through standing SAWs (SSAWs). By means of flow cytometric analysis, the PLT concentration factor was found to be 7.7, and it was proven that the PLTs maintain their initial state. A substantially higher cell throughput and considerably lower applied powers than comparable devices from literature were achieved. In addition, fully coupled 3D numerical simulations based on SAW wave field measurements were carried out to anticipate the coupling of the wave field into the fluid, and to obtain the resulting pressure field. A comparison to the acoustically simpler case of PDMS channel walls is given. The simulated results show an ideal match to the experimental observations and offer the first insights into the acoustic behavior of SU-8 as channel wall material. The proposed device is compatible with current (Lab-on-a-Chip) microfabrication techniques allowing for mass-scale, reproducible chip manufacturing which is crucial to push the technology from lab-based to real-world applications. © The Royal Society of Chemistry.
A Holistic Solution to Icing by Acoustic Waves: De-Icing, Active Anti-Icing, Sensing with Piezoelectric Crystals, and Synergy with Thin Film Passive Anti-Icing Solutions
2023, del Moral, Jaime, Montes, Laura, Rico‐Gavira, Victor Joaquin, López‐Santos, Carmen, Jacob, Stefan, Oliva‐Ramirez, Manuel, Gil‐Rostra, Jorge, Fakhfouri, Armaghan, Pandey, Shilpi, Gonzalez del Val, Miguel, Mora, Julio, García‐Gallego, Paloma, Ibáñez‐Ibáñez, Pablo Francisco, Rodríguez‐Valverde, Miguel Angel, Winkler, Andreas, Borrás, Ana, González‐Elipe, Agustin Rodriguez
Icing has become a hot topic both in academia and in the industry given its implications in transport, wind turbines, photovoltaics, and telecommunications. Recently proposed de-icing solutions involving the propagation of acoustic waves (AWs) at suitable substrates may open the path for a sustainable alternative to standard de-icing or anti-icing procedures. Herein, the fundamental interactions are unraveled that contribute to the de-icing and/or hinder the icing on AW-activated substrates. The response toward icing of a reliable model system consisting of a piezoelectric plate activated by extended electrodes is characterized at a laboratory scale and in an icing wind tunnel under realistic conditions. Experiments show that surface modification with anti-icing functionalities provides a synergistic response when activated with AWs. A thoughtful analysis of the resonance frequency dependence on experimental variables such as temperature, ice formation, or wind velocity demonstrates the application of AW devices for real-time monitoring of icing processes.
Surface acoustic wave nebulization improves compound selectivity of low-temperature plasma ionization for mass spectrometry
2021, Kiontke, Andreas, Roudini, Mehrzad, Billig, Susan, Fakhfouri, Armaghan, Winkler, Andreas, Birkemeyer, Claudia
Mass spectrometry coupled to low-temperature plasma ionization (LTPI) allows for immediate and easy analysis of compounds from the surface of a sample at ambient conditions. The efficiency of this process, however, strongly depends on the successful desorption of the analyte from the surface to the gas phase. Whilst conventional sample heating can improve analyte desorption, heating is not desirable with respect to the stability of thermally labile analytes. In this study using aromatic amines as model compounds, we demonstrate that (1) surface acoustic wave nebulization (SAWN) can significantly improve compound desorption for LTPI without heating the sample. Furthermore, (2) SAWN-assisted LTPI shows a response enhancement up to a factor of 8 for polar compounds such as aminophenols and phenylenediamines suggesting a paradigm shift in the ionization mechanism. Additional assets of the new technique demonstrated here are (3) a reduced analyte selectivity (the interquartile range of the response decreased by a factor of 7)—a significant benefit in non-targeted analysis of complex samples—and (4) the possibility for automated online monitoring using an autosampler. Finally, (5) the small size of the microfluidic SAWN-chip enables the implementation of the method into miniaturized, mobile LTPI probes.
Towards Green 3D-Microfabrication of Bio-MEMS Devices Using ADEX Dry Film Photoresists
2022, Roos, Michael M., Winkler, Andreas, Nilsen, Madeleine, Menzel, Siegfried B., Strehle, Steffen
Current trends in miniaturized diagnostics indicate an increasing demand for large quantities of mobile devices for health monitoring and point-of-care diagnostics. This comes along with a need for rapid but preferably also green microfabrication. Dry film photoresists (DFPs) promise low-cost and greener microfabrication and can partly or fully replace conventional silicon-technologies being associated with high-energy demands and the intense use of toxic and climate-active chemicals. Due to their mechanical stability and superior film thickness homogeneity, DFPs outperform conventional spin-on photoresists, such as SU-8, especially when three-dimensional architectures are required for micro-analytical devices (e.g. microfluidics). In this study, we utilize the commercial epoxy-based DFP ADEX to demonstrate various application scenarios ranging from the direct modification of microcantilever beams via the assembly of microfluidic channels to lamination-free patterning of DFPs, which employs the DFP directly as a substrate material. Finally, kinked, bottom-up grown silicon nanowires were integrated in this manner as prospective ion-sensitive field-effect transistors in a bio-probe architecture directly on ADEX substrates. Hence, we have developed the required set of microfabrication protocols for such an assembly comprising metal thin film deposition, direct burn-in of lithography alignment markers, and polymer patterning on top of the DFP.
Influence of Viscosity in Fluid Atomization with Surface Acoustic Waves
2016, Winkler, Andreas, Bergelt, Paul, Hillemann, Lars, Menzel, Siegfried
In this work, aqueous glycerol solutions are atomized to investigate the influence of the viscosity on the droplet size and the general atomization behavior in a setup using standing surface acoustic waves (sSAW) and a fluid supply at the boundary of the acoustic path. Depending on the fluid viscosity, the produced aerosols have a monomodal or polymodal size distribution. The mean droplet size in the dominant droplet fraction, however, decreases with increasing viscosity. Our results also indicate that the local wavefield conditions are crucial for the atomization process.
Author Correction: Surface acoustic wave nebulization improves compound selectivity of low-temperature plasma ionization for mass spectrometry
2021, Kiontke, Andreas, Roudini, Mehrzad, Billig, Susan, Fakhfouri, Armaghan, Winkler, Andreas, Birkemeyer, Claudia
Correction to: Scientific Reports https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82423-w, published online 03 February 2021