CN115793235A

CN115793235A - Dielectric wetting device

Info

Publication number: CN115793235A
Application number: CN202211499439.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 许世华; 陈维翰; 黄胜国; 陈敬文
Original assignee: AU Optronics Corp
Current assignee: AU Optronics Corp
Priority date: 2022-09-12
Filing date: 2022-11-28
Publication date: 2023-03-14
Also published as: TWI806764B; TW202411739A

Abstract

The invention provides a dielectric wetting device, which comprises: a first substrate having a plurality of driving units, wherein each driving unit includes a first electrode and an active control element for controlling the first electrode; a second substrate facing the first substrate and including a second electrode; a dielectric layer disposed on a side of the first electrode facing the second substrate; a first hydrophobic layer disposed on a side of the dielectric layer facing the second substrate; and a second hydrophobic layer disposed on one side of the second electrode facing the first substrate. The first and second hydrophobic layers define a chamber, and the chamber is formed in communication with corresponding to at least a portion of the drive units. Corresponding to each driving unit, the first hydrophobic layer comprises a first hydrophobic part and a second hydrophobic part, the second hydrophobic part is arranged at intervals, and the hydrophobicity of the second hydrophobic part is larger than that of the first hydrophobic part.

Description

Dielectric wetting device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a dielectric wetting apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to a dielectric wetting apparatus with hydrophobic parts.

Background

A dielectric wetting device is a device that produces a change in capacitance across a dielectric layer, thereby changing the polarity of the interface on the dielectric layer to change the hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties to manipulate a fluid. As mentioned above, depending on the dielectric wetting apparatus, fluids may be moved, divided or pooled based on changes in hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties. However, in order to achieve the above effect, it is often necessary to apply a driving voltage, and thus the consumed power increases. Accordingly, there is a need to develop dielectric wetting apparatuses that can reduce the driving voltage and still achieve the desired fluid operation, while maintaining structural stability.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a dielectric wetting apparatus for operating fluid movement, which includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a dielectric layer, a first hydrophobic layer and a second hydrophobic layer. The first substrate comprises a plurality of driving units, each driving unit of the driving units comprises a first electrode and an active control element, wherein the first electrodes are independently controlled by the corresponding active control elements, and the second substrate is arranged opposite to the first substrate and comprises at least one second electrode. The dielectric layer is arranged on one side of the first electrodes facing the second substrate. The first hydrophobic layer is arranged on one side of the dielectric layer facing the second substrate. The second hydrophobic layer is arranged on one side of the second electrode facing the first substrate. The first hydrophobic layer and the second hydrophobic layer define a chamber sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first hydrophobic layer includes a first hydrophobic portion and a second hydrophobic portion corresponding to each of the driving units, and the second hydrophobic portion has a hydrophobicity greater than that of the first hydrophobic portion. The second hydrophobic portions are disposed at intervals in a peripheral region of each of the driving units corresponding to each of the driving units, and the chambers are formed to communicate with at least some of the driving units.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the invention, the active control element controls the first electrode to generate the driving voltage, so that the fluid can move in the chamber correspondingly across a part of the driving units.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the invention, the first hydrophobic portion is made of a first hydrophobic material, and the second hydrophobic portion is made of a second hydrophobic material different from the first hydrophobic material.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus according to the present invention, the second hydrophobic portion protrudes toward the second substrate relative to the first hydrophobic portion.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the present invention, the first hydrophobic portion is a planar portion formed of the first hydrophobic material, and the second hydrophobic portion is a hydrophobic microstructure formed of the second hydrophobic material.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the present invention, the first hydrophobic portion is a planar portion formed of a first hydrophobic material, and the second hydrophobic portion is a hydrophobic microstructure formed of the first hydrophobic material.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the present invention, the hydrophobic microstructure includes a plurality of bumps densely distributed, and a diameter of the bumps parallel to a plane where the first hydrophobic portion is located is less than 0.25mm.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the present invention, the height of the bumps protruding from the plane of the first hydrophobic portion toward the second substrate is less than 10um, and the diameter of the bumps parallel to the plane of the first hydrophobic portion is less than 0.05mm.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the present invention, a first insulating layer is sandwiched between the first electrode and the first hydrophobic layer, and the second hydrophobic portion has at least one hydrophobic protrusion structure, and wherein the first electrode, the first insulating layer, the dielectric layer, or a combination thereof has at least one protrusion structure corresponding to an outline of the hydrophobic protrusion structure.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the invention, the first hydrophobic portions of the first driving unit and the second driving unit adjacent to each other among the driving units are at least partially connected and communicated with each other.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the present invention, in each of the driving units, the second hydrophobic portion is disposed corresponding to a corner of the driving unit, and at least a portion of a corner of the driving unit connecting adjacent driving units is a channel portion formed by the first hydrophobic portion, and wherein the channel portion communicates the driving unit and the adjacent driving unit.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the present invention, in each of the driving units, on a virtual plane parallel to the first hydrophobic layer, a projected area of the second hydrophobic portion accounts for an area ratio of each of the driving units in a range of 10% to 60%.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the present invention, in each of the driving units, on a virtual plane parallel to the first water-repellent layer, a ratio of the projected area of the second water-repellent portion to the area of each of the driving units is in a range of 20% to 40%.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the present invention, in each of the driving units, on a virtual plane parallel to the first hydrophobic layer, a ratio of a projected area of the second hydrophobic portion to an area of each of the driving units is smaller than a ratio of a projected area of the first hydrophobic portion to an area of each of the driving units.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the invention, corresponding to a predetermined fluid, the contact angle of the fluid on the first hydrophobic portion is between 140 degrees and 90 degrees and the contact angle of the fluid on the second hydrophobic portion is between 150 degrees and 100 degrees under the condition that the active control element does not control the first electrode to generate the driving voltage, and the contact angle of the fluid on the second hydrophobic portion is larger than the contact angle of the fluid on the first hydrophobic portion.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the invention, corresponding to the predetermined fluid, the contact angle of the fluid on the first hydrophobic portion is between 130 degrees and 100 degrees, and the contact angle of the fluid on the second hydrophobic portion is between 140 degrees and 120 degrees, under the condition that the active control element does not control the first electrode to generate the driving voltage.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the present invention, the first hydrophobic portion is made of PDMS or a polymer containing fluorine or carboxyl, and the second hydrophobic portion is made of PDMS or a polymer containing fluorine or methyl.

In the dielectric wetting apparatus of the present invention, the first hydrophobic portion and the dielectric layer are made of a first hydrophobic material having dielectric properties, and the dielectric layer and the first hydrophobic layer are directly connected or the dielectric layer and the first hydrophobic layer are integrally formed.

In contrast to the effect obtained by the problems of the background art, the dielectric wetting apparatus provided by the embodiments of the invention can improve the efficiency of the fluid moving across a portion of the driving units based on the hydrophobic property of the fluid being squeezed by arranging the first hydrophobic portion and the second hydrophobic portion corresponding to each driving unit. Therefore, the driving voltage required to be applied by the low dielectric wetting apparatus can be stably reduced in the maintaining structure, thereby improving the fluid control efficiency of the dielectric wetting apparatus and reducing the power consumption of the whole dielectric wetting apparatus.

Drawings

Fig. 1A and 1B are schematic cross-sectional views of a dielectric wetting apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2A is a schematic contact angle diagram of a first hydrophobic portion of a dielectric wetting apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2B is a schematic contact angle diagram of a second hydrophobic portion of a dielectric wetting apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3A and 3B are schematic views of the arrangement of the first hydrophobic portion and the second hydrophobic portion of the dielectric wetting apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4A and 4B are schematic configurations of a first hydrophobic portion and a second hydrophobic portion of a dielectric wetting apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams illustrating configurations of a first hydrophobic portion and a second hydrophobic portion of a dielectric wetting apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6A and 6B are schematic views showing the arrangement of a first hydrophobic portion and a second hydrophobic portion of a dielectric wetting apparatus according to still another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 7A and 7B are schematic diagrams illustrating a ratio of hydrophobic microstructures according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of a convex structure of another stack having a hydrophobic convex structure corresponding to the first hydrophobic layer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view of a further stack according to a further embodiment of the present invention with a raised structure of hydrophobic raised structures corresponding to the first hydrophobic layer.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relative distribution of the first hydrophobic portion and the second hydrophobic portion corresponding to each driving unit according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relative distribution of the first hydrophobic portion and the second hydrophobic portion corresponding to each driving unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relative distribution of the first hydrophobic portion and the second hydrophobic portion corresponding to each driving unit according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 13A and 13B are schematic views illustrating the operation of the dielectric wetting apparatus for fluid movement according to the above embodiments.

Wherein, the reference numbers:

10. 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90: dielectric wetting device

100: first substrate

110: a first electrode

130: active control element

200: second substrate

210: second electrode

300: dielectric layer

410: first hydrophobic layer

411: a first hydrophobic moiety

412: a second hydrophobic moiety

415: channel section

420: second hydrophobic layer

500: a first insulating layer

Cr: central region

D. D1, D2, D3, D4: drive unit

F: fluid, especially for a motor vehicle

F1, F2: fluid part

FP: predetermined position

G: corner

H. H1, H2: area of

h: height

K. K1, K2, K3: contour profile

L: corner edge

M: direction of movement

M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7, M8: drive unit row MS: hydrophobic microstructures

N1, N2: contact angle

P: bump

PL: plane part

Pr: peripheral region

Q: hydrophobic convex structure

Q1, Q2, Q3: bump structure

R: chamber

r1, r2: diameter of

W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6: column of drive units

Detailed Description

Various embodiments will be described hereinafter, and the spirit and principles of the invention should be readily understood by those skilled in the art with reference to the description taken in conjunction with the drawings. However, while specific embodiments are specifically illustrated herein, these embodiments are merely exemplary and are not to be considered in all respects as limiting or exhaustive. Accordingly, various changes and modifications to the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention.

Referring to fig. 1A and 1B, a dielectric wetting apparatus 10 for handling movement of a fluid F is disclosed according to one embodiment of the invention. The dielectric wetting apparatus 10 comprises: the substrate includes a first substrate 100, a second substrate 200 disposed opposite to the first substrate 100, a dielectric layer 300 disposed on the first substrate 100, a first hydrophobic layer 410 disposed on the first substrate 100 and the dielectric layer 300, and a second hydrophobic layer 420 disposed on the second substrate 200 opposite to the first hydrophobic layer 410. The first hydrophobic layer 410 and the second hydrophobic layer 420 may define a chamber R sandwiched between the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200, and a predetermined fluid F preset for operation of the dielectric wetting apparatus 10 may be disposed in the chamber R.

As mentioned above, according to the present embodiment, the first substrate 100 substantially includes a plurality of driving units, and fig. 1A and 1B exemplarily show four driving units D1, D2, D3, D4. However, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that this is merely an example, and the number of driving units actually included in the first substrate 100 of the dielectric wetting apparatus 10 according to various embodiments of the present invention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the chamber R defined by the first hydrophobic layer 410 and the second hydrophobic layer 420 can be formed in communication with at least some of the driving units (e.g., the driving units D1, D2, D3, D4). Alternatively, the chamber R may be formed across at least a portion of the driving units (e.g., the driving units D1, D2, D3, D4).

Specifically, each of the driving units D1, D2, D3, and D4 may include the first electrode 110 and the active control element 130, respectively. The first electrodes 110 can be independently controlled by the corresponding active control devices 130 to generate the driving voltages. That is, the first electrode 110 of each driving unit is turned on and driven independently from other driving units, so that each driving unit can be substantially selectively turned on or off.

According to the above embodiment, the active control device 130 may be a thin film transistor including a source electrode, a drain electrode, a gate electrode, and the like, and may control the conduction and driving of the first electrode 110. However, this is merely an example, and the kind of the active control element 130 that can control the conduction and driving of the first electrode 110 according to other embodiments of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the second substrate 200 opposite to the first substrate 100 may also include at least one second electrode 210. The second electrodes 210 may be disposed correspondingly across one or more driving units (e.g., the driving units D1, D2, D3, D4) and may be kept in a conductive state. Therefore, the generation of the electrode potential between the first electrode 110 and the second electrode 210 corresponding to each driving unit may depend on whether the first electrode 110 of each driving unit is turned on or not. That is, the generation of the electrode potential between the first electrode 110 and the second electrode 210 corresponding to each driving unit may be independently dependent on the control of the active control element 130 of each driving unit.

In addition, the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 may also optionally include other known common elements or components, such as but not limited to a glass substrate, in addition to the above elements, according to the design. Accordingly, further description of these matters will not be provided herein.

As mentioned above, the dielectric layer 300 is disposed on a side of the first electrodes 110 facing the second substrate 200, and the dielectric layer 300 can be electrically polarized based on the conduction of the first electrodes 110. In addition, the first hydrophobic layer 410 is disposed on a side of the dielectric layer 300 facing the second substrate 200. Thus, the electrical polarization of the dielectric layer 300 may cause the hydrophobic properties of the first hydrophobic layer 410 thereon to change. In detail, the first electrode 110 is turned on to generate a capacitance potential and induce the surface interface of the dielectric layer 300 to be positively or negatively charged so as to be electrically polarized. Then, the electrical polarization of the dielectric layer 300 may cause the first hydrophobic layer 410 thereon to be less hydrophobic and more hydrophilic with respect to the fluid F. Thereby, the fluid F in the chamber R disposed between the first hydrophobic layer 410 and the second hydrophobic layer 420 disposed on the side of the second electrode 210 facing the first substrate 100 may move corresponding to the adjustment change of the hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity.

For example, referring to fig. 1A, the fluid F may be correspondingly disposed in the chambers R of the driving units D3 and D4 that turn on the first electrode 110 to generate the driving voltage. Then, when the first electrodes 110 in the driving units D3 and D4 are turned off and the first electrodes 110 in the driving units D1 and D2 are turned on from the state of fig. 1A, the fluid F moves along the moving direction M and moves from the chamber R corresponding to the driving units D3 and D4 to the chamber R corresponding to the driving units D1 and D2 as shown in fig. 1B. In summary, fig. 1B shows an exemplary movement process of the fluid F and a state of finally reaching the predetermined position FP of the chamber R.

As described above, the active matrix type dielectric wetting apparatus 10 can be realized by controlling the first electrode 110 to generate the driving voltage by the active control element 130 in each driving unit, such as each driving unit D1, D2, D3, D4, so that the fluid F can move in the chamber R across a portion of the driving units, such as the driving units D1, D2, D3, D4.

According to the above embodiment, the fluid F of the predetermined operation may be a polar fluid. In addition, according to the above embodiment, the chamber R may be selectively filled with a fluid other than the fluid F for a predetermined operation, so as to fill the chamber R to remove air and/or assist the fluid F to maintain the profile. As mentioned above, according to the above embodiment, the fluid F of the predetermined operation may be a polar fluid, and the other fluid filled in the chamber R may be a non-polar fluid such as ink. However, this is merely an example and other embodiments according to the present invention are not limited thereto.

During the above-mentioned movement, it is necessary to apply a sufficient driving voltage to the first electrode 110 to make the fluid F move enough to cross the moving energy barrier. However, an increase in the drive voltage will increase the power consumption of the overall dielectric wetting apparatus 10. Therefore, in order to further reduce the driving voltage to achieve the mobility of the fluid F and maintain the stable thickness of the dielectric layer 300, the energy barrier for the fluid F to move on the first hydrophobic layer 110 can be relatively reduced. In summary, in order to reduce the moving energy barrier, the dielectric wetting apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment may actually include the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412 having different hydrophobic properties corresponding to each driving unit (e.g., each driving unit D1, D2, D3, D4). Wherein the second hydrophobic portion 412 may have a hydrophobicity greater than that of the first hydrophobic portion 411. Accordingly, the second hydrophobic portions 412 with higher hydrophobicity corresponding to the driving units D1, D2, D3, and D4 may be disposed at the peripheral regions Pr of the driving units D1, D2, D3, and D4 at intervals. Here, the peripheral region Pr may be a peripheral region with respect to the central region Cr of each of the driving units, and may be connected to peripheral regions Pr of other adjacent or neighboring driving units. Therefore, when the fluid F needs to move to the chambers R on other driving units through the peripheral region Pr, the energy barrier for the fluid F to move on the first hydrophobic layer 110 can be relatively lowered.

In detail, referring to fig. 2A and 2B in conjunction with fig. 1A and 1B, according to the above embodiment, corresponding to the predetermined fluid F, the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412 may also have hydrophobicity such that a contact angle thereof with respect to the predetermined fluid F is at least equal to or greater than 90 degrees when the active control element 130 does not control the first electrode 110 to generate the driving voltage. For example, according to the above embodiment, the contact angle N1 of the fluid F at the first hydrophobic portion 411 may be between 140 degrees and 90 degrees, and the contact angle N2 of the fluid F at the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be between 150 degrees and 100 degrees. For another example, in some preferred embodiments, the contact angle N1 of the fluid F on the first hydrophobic portion 411 may be between 130 degrees and 100 degrees, and the contact angle N2 of the fluid F on the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be between 140 degrees and 120 degrees, corresponding to a predetermined fluid F, under the driving voltage generated by the first electrode 110 under the control of the active control element 130. Since the hydrophobicity of the second hydrophobic portion 412 needs to be greater than that of the first hydrophobic portion 411, the contact angle N2 of the fluid F on the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be greater than the contact angle N1 of the fluid F on the first hydrophobic portion 411. For example, the contact angle N1 of the first hydrophobic portion 411 may be 100 degrees and the contact angle N2 of the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be 140 degrees, but this is merely an example and embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

Under the driving voltage generated by the active control device 130 controlling the first electrode 110, the contact angles N1 and N2 of the fluid F on the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412 can be decreased, so as to increase the adhesion of the fluid F to the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412. Therefore, the fluid F may be more stably attached to the first and second

hydrophobic portions

411 and 412 than in a state where the turn-on driving voltage is not turned on. That is, the hydrophilicity of the first and second

hydrophobic portions

411 and 412 may be increased by the driving voltage generated by the first electrode 110.

According to the above embodiments, the first hydrophobic portion 411 may be made of PDMS or a polymer containing fluorine or carboxyl, and the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be made of PDMS or a polymer containing fluorine or methyl. For example, according to the above embodiment, the first hydrophobic part 411 may be made of 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid), and the second hydrophobic part 412 may be made of octadecanethiol (octadecanol), but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, according to the above embodiments, the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the dielectric layer 300 may be made of a first hydrophobic material having dielectric properties, and the dielectric layer 300 and the first hydrophobic layer 410 may be directly connected or the dielectric layer 300 and the first hydrophobic layer 410 may be integrally formed. However, this is merely an example, and the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the dielectric layer 300 may be made of completely different materials. Accordingly, the invention is not limited to the examples described in detail.

The first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412 of the first hydrophobic layer 410 can be formed or configured in various known or future developed manners, including but not limited to chemical etching, inkjet printing, photolithography, and the like, and will not be described herein again.

Next, an arrangement pattern of the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412 having different hydrophobicity according to embodiments of the present invention will be further described. Here, for simplicity, only the adjacent driving units D1 and D2 may be schematically shown in the subsequent drawings for illustration.

First, referring to the dielectric wetting device 20 of the embodiment shown in fig. 3A and 3B, fig. 3A shows a plan view of the first water-repellent layer 410 as viewed from the second substrate 200 side toward the first substrate 100 side, and fig. 3B shows a cross-sectional view of the dielectric wetting device 20.

In view of the above, according to the dielectric wetting apparatus 20 of the present embodiment, the first hydrophobic portion 411 may be made of a first hydrophobic material, and the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be made of a second hydrophobic material different from the first hydrophobic material. Therefore, the hydrophobic difference between the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412 can be formed by the hydrophobic difference between different hydrophobic materials. Thus, when the fluid F is originally disposed in the driving unit D2, and the driving unit D2 turns off the driving voltage and the driving unit D1 turns on the driving voltage, the fluid F may tend to move along the first hydrophobic portion 411 of the driving unit D2 to the driving unit D1 with higher hydrophilicity due to the higher hydrophobicity of the second hydrophobic portion 412 of the driving unit D2, thereby forming a pushing effect based on the second hydrophobic portion 412. Therefore, the fluid F may tend to move along the first hydrophobic portion 411 in the driving unit D2 (with reference to the moving direction M) compared to along the entire driving unit D2, and the energy barrier for moving from the driving unit D2 to the driving unit D1 as a whole is reduced due to the pushing effect of the second hydrophobic portion 412 and the narrower channel formed by the first hydrophobic portion 411. Thereby, the required driving voltage may be correspondingly reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption of the overall dielectric wetting apparatus 20 required for operating the movement of the fluid F.

Next, referring to the dielectric wetting device 30 of the embodiment shown in fig. 4A and 4B, fig. 4A shows a plan view of the first water-repellent layer 410 as viewed from the second substrate 200 side toward the first substrate 100 side, and fig. 4B shows a cross-sectional view of the dielectric wetting device 30.

In view of the above, the dielectric wetting apparatus 30 according to the present embodiment is different from the dielectric wetting apparatus 20 in that the second hydrophobic portion 412 made of the second hydrophobic material may protrude toward the second substrate 200 relative to the first hydrophobic portion 411 made of the first hydrophobic material. Therefore, when the fluid F moves from the second hydrophobic portion 412 to the first hydrophobic portion 411 due to the pushing effect of the higher hydrophobicity of the second hydrophobic portion 412, the energy required for the movement can be further reduced based on the level difference. Thereby, the required driving voltage may be correspondingly reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption of the overall dielectric wetting apparatus 30 for operating the movement of the fluid F.

Next, referring to the dielectric wetting device 40 of the embodiment shown in fig. 5A and 5B, fig. 5A shows a plan view of the first hydrophobic layer 410 as viewed from the second substrate 200 side toward the first substrate 100 side, and fig. 5B shows a cross-sectional view of the dielectric wetting device 40.

In summary, the dielectric wetting apparatus 40 according to the present embodiment is different from the dielectric wetting apparatus 30 in that the second hydrophobic portion 412 made of the second hydrophobic material may further form the hydrophobic microstructure MS in addition to protruding toward the second substrate 200 relative to the first hydrophobic portion 411 made of the first hydrophobic material.

Specifically, according to the present embodiment, the first hydrophobic portion 411 may be a planar portion PL formed of a first hydrophobic material, and the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be a hydrophobic microstructure MS formed of a second hydrophobic material. Here, the hydrophobic microstructure MS may be, for example, a structure including a plurality of bumps P densely distributed. As shown in fig. 5A, the hydrophobic microstructures MS may be bumps P densely distributed in a 3 × 3 matrix, but is not limited thereto. As mentioned above, according to the above embodiment, the hydrophobic microstructures MS may be densely distributed bumps P in any number and in any shape, or even densely distributed bumps P in irregular shapes. Thereby, the hydrophobic microstructure MS of the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be arranged relative to the relative sizes of the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412, and thereby the integrity of the contacted fluid F is destroyed, thereby further increasing the hydrophobicity (greater than the hydrophobicity of the first hydrophobic portion 411) of the second hydrophobic portion 412 in addition to the hydrophobicity difference based on the second hydrophobic material. Therefore, due to the pushing effect of the second hydrophobic portion 412 and the narrow channel formed by the first hydrophobic portion 411, the energy barrier for moving the whole from the driving unit D2 to the driving unit D1 is reduced. Thereby, the required driving voltage may be correspondingly reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption of the overall dielectric wetting apparatus 40 required for operating the movement of the fluid F.

Next, referring to the dielectric wetting device 50 of the embodiment shown in fig. 6A and 6B, fig. 6A shows a top view of the first water-repellent layer 410 viewed from the second substrate 200 side toward the first substrate 100 side, and fig. 6B shows a cross-sectional view of the dielectric wetting device 50.

In summary, according to the dielectric wetting apparatus 50 of the present embodiment, the difference from the dielectric wetting apparatus 40 is that the second hydrophobic portion 412 can be made of the same first hydrophobic material as the first hydrophobic portion 411, and the difference between the hydrophobicity of the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the hydrophobicity of the second hydrophobic portion 412 is generated based on the arrangement of the hydrophobic microstructures MS. That is, the first hydrophobic portion 411 may be a planar portion PL formed of the first hydrophobic material, and the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be a hydrophobic microstructure MS formed of the first hydrophobic material. Thereby, the hydrophobic microstructure MS of the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be arranged relative to the relative sizes of the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412, and thereby the integrity of the contacted fluid F is destroyed, thereby increasing the hydrophobicity (greater than the hydrophobicity of the first hydrophobic portion 411) of the second hydrophobic portion 412. In addition, the cost and effort required to use the second hydrophobic material can be reduced to implement the second hydrophobic portion 412. Accordingly, due to the pushing effect of the second hydrophobic portion 412 and the narrow channel formed by the first hydrophobic portion 411, the energy barrier for moving the whole body from the driving unit D2 to the driving unit D1 is reduced. Thereby, the required driving voltage may be correspondingly reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption of the overall dielectric wetting apparatus 50 for operating the movement of the fluid F.

Referring further to the corresponding partial enlarged schematic views shown in fig. 7A and 7B, according to the above embodiments, in the hydrophobic microstructure MS shown in fig. 5A to 6B, diameters r1 and r2 of the bumps P parallel to a plane (e.g., the planar portion PL) of the first hydrophobic portion 411 may be smaller than 0.25mm. In addition, according to the above embodiment, the height h of the bumps P protruding from the plane of the first hydrophobic portion 411 toward the second substrate 200 may be less than 10um, and the diameters r1 and r2 parallel to the plane of the first hydrophobic portion 411 may be less than 0.05mm. However, the above are examples, and according to other embodiments of the present invention, the size of the hydrophobic microstructure MS may be changed according to the size of the hydrophobic microstructure MS relative to the size of the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412.

Next, reference is made to the

dielectric wetting apparatuses

60 and 70 of the embodiments shown in fig. 8 and 9. According to the above-described embodiment, the other stacked layers stacked on the side of the first hydrophobic layer 410 opposite to the second substrate 200, corresponding to the hydrophobic protrusion structure Q in which the second hydrophobic portion 412 protrudes with respect to the first hydrophobic portion 411, may have the corresponding protrusion structure.

For example, as shown in fig. 8, the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be formed as the hydrophobic microstructure MS as described above. That is, the second hydrophobic portion 412 may have at least one hydrophobic projection structure Q as a hydrophobic microstructure MS. According to this embodiment, other stacked layers on the side of the first hydrophobic layer 410 opposite to the second substrate 200 may have at least one protruding structure corresponding to the profile K of the hydrophobic protruding structure. Here, the first insulating layer 500 for various purposes such as preventing ions from penetrating may be interposed between the first electrode 110 and the first hydrophobic layer 410, and the first electrode 110, the first insulating layer 500, the dielectric layer 300, or a combination thereof (e.g., only the dielectric layer 300; both the dielectric layer 300 and the first insulating layer 500; or all the dielectric layer 300, the first insulating layer 500, and the first electrode 110) may have at least one protrusion structure Q1, Q2, Q3 corresponding to the profile K of the hydrophobic protrusion structure Q. As mentioned above, the raised structures Q1, Q2, Q3 may have profiles K1, K2, K3 that are substantially the same or similar to profile K. For example, the first electrode 110, the first insulating layer 500, the dielectric layer 300, or a combination thereof may be formed by first forming the protruding structures Q1, Q2, Q3 having the profiles K1, K2, K3, such that when the first hydrophobic layer 410 is formed by coating or the like, the first hydrophobic layer 410 may naturally form the hydrophobic protruding structures Q corresponding to the profiles K1, K2, K3 of the protruding structures Q1, Q2, Q3. Thus, the raised structures Q1, Q2, Q3 may have profiles K1, K2, K3 that are substantially the same or similar to the profile K of the hydrophobic raised structure Q, and the profiles K1, K2, K3 may substantially coincide with the profile K.

As described above, according to another embodiment, as shown in fig. 9, the second hydrophobic portion 412 may protrude toward the second substrate 200 as the at least one hydrophobic convex structure Q in one piece with respect to the first hydrophobic portion 411. According to this embodiment, other stacked layers on the side of the first hydrophobic layer 410 opposite to the second substrate 200 may also similarly have at least one protruding structure corresponding to the profile K of the hydrophobic protruding structure Q. For example, the first electrode 110, the first insulating layer 500, the dielectric layer 300, or a combination thereof has at least one protruding structure Q1, Q2, Q3 corresponding to the profile K of the hydrophobic protruding structure Q, and the protruding structures Q1, Q2, Q3 may have profiles K1, K2, K3 of substantially the same or similar profiles K. This is the same or similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 8 except for the shape, and will not be described again.

According to the above embodiment, referring to the dielectric wetting apparatus 80 shown in fig. 10, in each driving unit, for example, the first driving unit D1 or the second driving unit D2, on the virtual plane parallel to the first hydrophobic layer 410, the projected area of the second hydrophobic portion 412 may occupy the area ratio of each driving unit in a range of 10% to 60%. For example, on a virtual plane parallel to the first hydrophobic layer 410, the total projected area H of the first driving unit D1 may be the sum of the projected area H1 of the first hydrophobic portion 411 of the first driving unit D1 and the projected area H2 of the second hydrophobic portion 412 of the first driving unit D1, and the range of the projected area H2 of the second hydrophobic portion 412 of the first driving unit D1 occupying the total projected area H of the first driving unit D1 may be 10% to 60%. In addition, according to the above-described embodiment, in each driving unit, for example, the first driving unit D1, the ratio of the projected area H2 of the second hydrophobic portion 412 of each driving unit, for example, the first driving unit D1, to the projected area H of each driving unit, for example, the first driving unit D1, on the virtual plane parallel to the first hydrophobic layer 410 may range from 20% to 40%.

Here, the area of each driving unit may be on a virtual plane parallel to the first hydrophobic layer 410, and each driving unit may have an area of a block where a driving voltage changes when driven by the first electrode 110 and the second electrode 210.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, in each driving unit, for example, the first driving unit D1, on the virtual plane parallel to the first water-repellent layer 410, the ratio of the projected area H2 of the second water-repellent portion 412 to the projected area H of the first driving unit D1 may be smaller than the ratio of the projected area H1 of the first water-repellent portion 411 to the projected area H of the first driving unit D1.

As described in the above embodiments, the respective first hydrophobic portions 411 of adjacent or adjoining ones of the plurality of driving units may be at least partially connected to communicate with each other, so that the fluid may correspondingly move along the first hydrophobic portions 411 between the adjacent or adjoining driving units, thereby reducing the driving voltage. For example, referring to the adjacent or connected first driving unit D1 and second driving unit D2 of the dielectric wetting device 90 of the further embodiment shown in fig. 11, the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be disposed corresponding to the corner G of each driving unit D1 and D2, and at least a portion of the corner L where the first driving unit D1 connects the adjacent second driving units D2 may be a channel portion 415 formed by the first hydrophobic portion 411. Accordingly, the first driving unit D1 and the adjacent second driving unit D2 are connected by the channel portion 415, so that the fluid can correspondingly move along the channel portion 415 formed by the first hydrophobic portion 411 with lower hydrophobicity through the peripheral region Pr. However, this embodiment and each of the embodiments listed above are only examples, and the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412 according to other embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

For example, referring to fig. 12 again, according to the above embodiment of the present invention, on the premise that the second hydrophobic portion 412 is disposed in the peripheral region Pr at the periphery of the central region Cr, the second hydrophobic portion 412 may not be disposed corresponding to the corner G. For example, as shown in the dielectric wetting apparatus 15 of fig. 12, the second hydrophobic portion 412 may also be disposed corresponding to a corner L between adjacent driving units, such as the first driving unit D1 and the second driving unit D2. Under this configuration, a channel portion 415 formed by the first hydrophobic portion 411 may be formed at a corner G where the first driving unit D1 is connected to the second driving unit D2.

As described above, as long as the adjacent or adjoining driving units have the channel portion 415 formed by the first hydrophobic portion 411 communicating with each other, various relative configurations of the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412 may be provided according to various embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, the various configurations and aspects described above with reference to fig. 1A-12 are merely examples, and other embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

As described above, according to the arrangement of the embodiments of the present invention, the first hydrophobic portion 411 and the second hydrophobic portion 412 having different hydrophobic properties are arranged such that the predetermined fluid F can be moved, divided or collected by the driving of the lower driving voltage. For example, referring to the dielectric wetting apparatus 25 of fig. 13A and 13B, it may have driving cell rows M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7, M8 and driving cell columns W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6. Accordingly, the plurality of driving units D may be arranged according to the driving unit rows M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7, M8 and the driving unit columns W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6, and each of the driving units D may have the same or similar arrangement of the first hydrophobic portion and the second hydrophobic portion as described in the above embodiments. Under this arrangement, if the driving units D are respectively controlled such that the plurality of driving units D corresponding to the entire rows of the driving unit rows M4 and M5, the single driving unit D corresponding to the junction of the driving unit row M3 and the driving unit column W5, and the single driving unit D corresponding to the junction of the driving unit row M6 and the driving unit column W3 are closed, in the case where the hydrophobicity of these driving units D is increased, the fluid F shown in fig. 13A may respectively move toward the other driving units D which are still kept open, so that the fluid F is naturally divided into the fluid portion F1 and the fluid portion F2 as shown in fig. 13B. As described above, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the operations, such as moving, dividing or pooling, of the predetermined fluid F can be achieved by turning on and off the respective driving units D with a lower driving voltage based on the same or similar operation modes. That is, the position and area expected to be occupied by the fluid F may be adjusted based on the turning on or off of the respective driving units. In the above, other implementation aspects will not be described herein.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, since the fluid may be moved, divided or collected across different driving units, the dielectric wetting apparatus as described above may be applied to various situations where it is necessary to move, divide or collect the fluid for detection, experiment, treatment, etc. For example, it can be applied to detect the properties of a test sample in a chip; or may be applied to a reaction chip to perform a predetermined chemical or physical treatment with respect to a predetermined fluid or even to mix with other predetermined second fluids, etc.; or can be applied to other devices which realize special effects after moving, dividing or converging operation fluid, and the like. Therefore, the dielectric wetting apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention can achieve higher fluid moving, dividing or collecting operation efficiency with lower power consumption, and can be applied to many components or occasions requiring fluid operation, such as micro flow channel chips, thereby improving the efficiency and applicability of such dielectric wetting apparatuses.

The foregoing is only a few preferred embodiments of the invention. It should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is defined by the appended claims and all changes, substitutions, combinations, modifications and alterations that are possible without departing from the scope of the invention are intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A dielectric wetting apparatus for handling a fluid movement, comprising:

a first substrate including multiple drive units, each of the drive units including

A first electrode and an active control element, wherein the first electrode is independently controlled by the corresponding active control element;

a second substrate, arranged opposite to the first substrate, and including at least one second electrode;

a dielectric layer arranged on one side of the first electrodes facing the second substrate;

a first hydrophobic layer disposed on a side of the dielectric layer facing the second substrate; and

the second hydrophobic layer is arranged on one side of the second electrode facing the first substrate;

the first hydrophobic layer and the second hydrophobic layer define a chamber clamped between the first substrate and the second substrate;

corresponding to each driving unit, the first hydrophobic layer comprises a first hydrophobic part and a second hydrophobic part, and the hydrophobicity of the second hydrophobic part is greater than that of the first hydrophobic part;

wherein, corresponding to each drive unit, the second hydrophobic part is arranged at intervals in the peripheral region of each drive unit, and

wherein the chamber is formed in communication with at least a portion of the drive units.

2. The dielectric wetting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the active control element controls the first electrode to generate a driving voltage to enable the fluid to move in the chamber across portions of the driving units.

3. The dielectric wetting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first hydrophobic portion is made of a first hydrophobic material and the second hydrophobic portion is made of a second hydrophobic material different from the first hydrophobic material.

4. A dielectric wetting device according to claim 3, wherein the second hydrophobic portion protrudes towards the second substrate relative to the first hydrophobic portion.

5. The dielectric wetting device of claim 3, wherein the first hydrophobic portion is a planar portion formed from the first hydrophobic material and the second hydrophobic portion is a hydrophobic microstructure formed from the second hydrophobic material.

6. The dielectric wetting device of claim 1, wherein the first hydrophobic portion is a planar portion formed of a first hydrophobic material and the second hydrophobic portion is a hydrophobic microstructure formed of the first hydrophobic material.

7. The dielectric wetting apparatus of claim 5 or 6, wherein the hydrophobic microstructure comprises a plurality of densely distributed bumps, and wherein the bumps have a diameter of less than 0.25mm parallel to a plane in which the first hydrophobic portion is located.

8. The dielectric wetting apparatus of claim 7, wherein the bumps protrude from the plane of the first hydrophobic portion toward the second substrate by a height of less than 10um and have a diameter parallel to the plane of the first hydrophobic portion of less than 0.05mm.

9. The dielectric wetting apparatus of claim 1, wherein a first insulating layer is sandwiched between the first electrode and the first hydrophobic layer, and the second hydrophobic portion has at least one hydrophobic raised structure, and wherein the first electrode, the first insulating layer, the dielectric layer, or a combination thereof has at least one raised structure corresponding to a profile of the hydrophobic raised structure.

10. The dielectric wetting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first hydrophobic portions of adjacent ones of the drive units are at least partially in communication with each other.

11. The dielectric wetting apparatus of claim 1, wherein in each of the driving units, the second hydrophobic portion is disposed corresponding to a corner of the driving unit, and at least a portion of a corner of the driving unit connecting adjacent driving units is a channel portion formed by the first hydrophobic portion, and wherein the channel portion communicates the driving unit with the adjacent driving unit.

12. A dielectric wetting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in each of the drive units, a projected area of the second hydrophobic portion occupies an area ratio of each of the drive units in a virtual plane parallel to the first hydrophobic layer in a range of 10% to 60%.

13. A dielectric wetting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein in each of the drive units, the projected area of the second hydrophobic portion occupies an area fraction of each of the drive units in a virtual plane parallel to the first hydrophobic layer in a range of 20% to 40%.

14. A dielectric wetting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in each of the drive units, a projected area of the second hydrophobic portion occupies a smaller proportion of an area of each of the drive units than a projected area of the first hydrophobic portion on a virtual plane parallel to the first hydrophobic portion.

15. The dielectric wetting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the contact angle of the fluid on the first hydrophobic portion is between 140 degrees and 90 degrees and the contact angle of the fluid on the second hydrophobic portion is between 150 degrees and 100 degrees in response to a predetermined driving voltage of the first electrode not controlled by the active control element, and wherein the contact angle of the fluid on the second hydrophobic portion is greater than the contact angle of the fluid on the first hydrophobic portion.

16. The dielectric wetting apparatus of claim 15, wherein a contact angle of the fluid on the first hydrophobic portion is between 130 degrees and 100 degrees and a contact angle of the fluid on the second hydrophobic portion is between 140 degrees and 120 degrees in response to a predetermined driving voltage generated by the first electrode without being controlled by the active control element.

17. The dielectric wetting device of claim 1, wherein the first hydrophobic portion is made of PDMS or a polymer containing fluorine or carboxyl, and the second hydrophobic portion is made of PDMS or a polymer containing fluorine or methyl.

18. The dielectric wetting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first hydrophobic portion and the dielectric layer are made of a first hydrophobic material having dielectric properties, and the dielectric layer is directly connected to the first hydrophobic layer or the dielectric layer and the first hydrophobic layer are integrally formed.