A Solid Electrolyte Valve for Micro/Nano-fluidics

Y. Yang, X. Zhang, M.N. Kozicki, J. Chae
Arizona State University, US

Keywords: micro/nano-fluidic valve, silver nano-electrodeposits, MEMS

Abstract:

This paper describes recent work on a valve to regulate liquid flow in micro/nano-fluidic channels using electrodeposited nanostructures on a solid-state AgGeSe electrolyte. The valve utilizes the extremely rough surface morphology of the electrodeposits to manipulate hydrophobicity. Electrodeposited nanostructures can be grown and retracted on the electrolyte surface by applying voltages between 5 and 15V at room temperature. The deposits are only a few hundred nm tall and yet are sufficient to block fluid flow in ~25m tall/500m wide channels.