WO2019100575A1 - 数字微流控液滴驱动装置及驱动方法 - Google Patents

数字微流控液滴驱动装置及驱动方法 Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2019100575A1
WO2019100575A1 PCT/CN2018/073199 CN2018073199W WO2019100575A1 WO 2019100575 A1 WO2019100575 A1 WO 2019100575A1 CN 2018073199 W CN2018073199 W CN 2018073199W WO 2019100575 A1 WO2019100575 A1 WO 2019100575A1
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Prior art keywords
driving
substrate
droplet
driving electrode
electrode block
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PCT/CN2018/073199
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English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
程鑫
行亚茹
刘显明
刘羽
陈日飞
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南方科技大学
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Publication of WO2019100575A1 publication Critical patent/WO2019100575A1/zh

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L3/00—Containers or dishes for laboratory use, e.g. laboratory glassware; Droppers
    • B01L3/50—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes
    • B01L3/502—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures
    • B01L3/5027—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures by integrated microfluidic structures, i.e. dimensions of channels and chambers are such that surface tension forces are important, e.g. lab-on-a-chip
    • B01L3/50273—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures by integrated microfluidic structures, i.e. dimensions of channels and chambers are such that surface tension forces are important, e.g. lab-on-a-chip characterised by the means or forces applied to move the fluids
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L3/00—Containers or dishes for laboratory use, e.g. laboratory glassware; Droppers
    • B01L3/50—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes
    • B01L3/502—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures
    • B01L3/5027—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures by integrated microfluidic structures, i.e. dimensions of channels and chambers are such that surface tension forces are important, e.g. lab-on-a-chip
    • B01L3/502769—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures by integrated microfluidic structures, i.e. dimensions of channels and chambers are such that surface tension forces are important, e.g. lab-on-a-chip characterised by multiphase flow arrangements
    • B01L3/502784—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures by integrated microfluidic structures, i.e. dimensions of channels and chambers are such that surface tension forces are important, e.g. lab-on-a-chip characterised by multiphase flow arrangements specially adapted for droplet or plug flow, e.g. digital microfluidics
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L2300/00—Additional constructional details
    • B01L2300/08—Geometry, shape and general structure
    • B01L2300/0887—Laminated structure
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L2400/00—Moving or stopping fluids
    • B01L2400/04—Moving fluids with specific forces or mechanical means
    • B01L2400/0403—Moving fluids with specific forces or mechanical means specific forces
    • B01L2400/0415—Moving fluids with specific forces or mechanical means specific forces electrical forces, e.g. electrokinetic
    • B01L2400/0424—Dielectrophoretic forces
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L2400/00—Moving or stopping fluids
    • B01L2400/04—Moving fluids with specific forces or mechanical means
    • B01L2400/0403—Moving fluids with specific forces or mechanical means specific forces
    • B01L2400/0415—Moving fluids with specific forces or mechanical means specific forces electrical forces, e.g. electrokinetic
    • B01L2400/0427—Electrowetting

Definitions

  • the embodiment relates to a digital droplet microfluidic technology, for example, to a digital microfluidic droplet driving device and a driving method.
  • microfluidic chips provide powerful sample preparation capabilities in biomedical research and applications such as genomics, proteomics, and precision medicine.
  • the basic characteristics and the biggest advantage of the microfluidic chip are the flexible combination and scale integration of multiple unit technologies on a small controllable platform, which can control the reagents on the microchip for automatic sampling, dilution, reagent addition, separation, etc., to realize the microchip.
  • Digital droplet microfluidic technology is an important research direction of microfluidic chip technology.
  • the droplet driving mechanism of digital droplet microfluidic technology is electrowetting and dielectrophoresis.
  • the digital microfluidic technology generally adopts a one-to-one input mode of droplet driving voltage, and is energized on the corresponding lower electrode of the droplet.
  • the electric field is applied, the surface tension of the droplet on the dielectric is reduced, and the contact angle is reduced.
  • the change in the surface tension of the dielectric causes the droplet to be unbalanced, thereby driving the droplets to move in the plane of the chip.
  • the digital microfluidic droplet driving device uses a one-to-one input mode to input signals to a plurality of electrodes through signal lines, thereby controlling the movement of the droplets.
  • the digital microfluidic droplet driving device includes a first substrate, a second substrate opposite to the first substrate, a droplet accommodating space formed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the second substrate is adjacent to the first substrate
  • a driving electrode layer is disposed on one side, and the driving electrode layer includes a plurality of driving electrode blocks spaced apart from each other, each driving electrode block is connected to one signal line, and different driving electrode blocks are connected to different signal lines.
  • the present disclosure provides a digital microfluidic droplet driving device and a driving method thereof, which can reduce the number of signal lines and reduce the manufacturing difficulty of the digital microfluidic droplet driving device under the premise of a large number of driving electrode blocks, and is a digital liquid.
  • the advantages of the large-scale flexible multi-thread control and other advantages are provided.
  • Embodiments of the present invention provide a digital microfluidic droplet driving device, including:
  • a second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate; a receiving space for droplets formed between the first substrate and the second substrate;
  • a reference electrode layer disposed on a side of the first substrate adjacent to the second substrate
  • a first hydrophobic layer disposed on a side of the reference electrode layer facing away from the first substrate
  • a driving electrode layer disposed on a side of the second substrate adjacent to the first substrate, the driving electrode layer comprising a plurality of driving electrode blocks spaced apart from each other;
  • a dielectric layer disposed on a side of the driving electrode layer facing away from the second substrate
  • control circuit layer includes a plurality of scan lines disposed in parallel with each other, a plurality of first drive signal lines disposed in parallel with each other, and a plurality of intersections defined by the scan lines and the first drive signal lines a control unit
  • the control unit is disposed in one-to-one correspondence with the driving electrode block
  • the control unit includes a control switch
  • the control switch includes a control end, a signal input end, and a signal output end
  • the control switch controls The terminal is electrically connected to the scan line
  • the signal input end of the control switch is electrically connected to the first driving signal line
  • the signal output end is electrically connected to the driving electrode block.
  • the second driving signal line and the third driving signal line are further included;
  • the second driving signal line is electrically connected to the reference electrode layer
  • the third driving signal line is electrically connected to the driving electrode block.
  • the control circuit layer is integrated on the second substrate.
  • the method further includes: a third substrate disposed opposite to the second substrate; the second substrate being located between the first substrate and the third substrate;
  • the third substrate includes a first surface adjacent to the second substrate and a plurality of connection pins
  • connection pin is located on the first surface of the third substrate, and is electrically connected to an output end of the control switch, the connection pin Provided in one-to-one correspondence with the driving electrode block on the second substrate; the control end of the control switch is electrically connected to the driving electrode block through the connecting pin;
  • the third driving signal line is integrated on the third substrate, and the third driving signal line is electrically connected to the driving electrode block through the connection pin.
  • a gap exists between the second substrate and the third substrate.
  • the width of the gap is greater than or equal to 0.1 mm.
  • the thickness of the second substrate is greater than or equal to 0.1 mm.
  • the embodiment of the present invention further provides a digital microfluidic droplet driving method for the digital microfluidic droplet driving device according to any one of the first aspects, comprising:
  • the planned moving path including a moving direction and related information of each of the driving electrode blocks through which the planned moving path passes;
  • the first driving signal value input on each driving electrode block through which the planned moving path passes is sequentially adjusted to move the liquid droplet according to the planned moving path.
  • the related information includes position coordinates of the driving electrode block in the driving electrode layer.
  • the first driving signal value input on each driving electrode block through which the planned moving path passes is sequentially adjusted according to the moving direction, so that the liquid droplet moves according to the planned moving path, including :
  • the drive electrode block inputs a third drive signal to cause the droplet to move in accordance with the planned movement path.
  • the second driving signal and the third driving signal comprise a square wave pulse signal.
  • the frequency of the square wave pulse signal is greater than 1 Hz, and the duty ratio ranges from 1% to 99%.
  • This embodiment can solve the related art digital microfluidic droplet driving device, which adopts a one-to-one input mode to input a first driving signal to each driving electrode block through a signal line, so that when the digital microfluidic liquid
  • the number of signal lines is reduced, the manufacturing difficulty of the digital microfluidic droplet driving device is reduced, and the advantages of large-scale flexible multi-thread control of digital droplets are provided.
  • Embodiment 1 is a schematic top plan view of a digital microfluidic droplet driving device provided in Embodiment 1;
  • Figure 2 is a cross-sectional structural view taken along line A-A' of Figure 1;
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a control circuit layer in the digital microfluidic droplet driving device of FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the control switch of Figure 3;
  • Figure 5 is a circuit diagram of the digital microfluidic droplet driving device of Figure 1;
  • Figure 6 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the working process of the digital microfluidic droplet driving device
  • FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of another digital microfluidic droplet driving device provided in Embodiment 2;
  • Figure 8 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the transistor of Figure 7 in an off state and a conducting state
  • Embodiment 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a digital microfluidic droplet driving device provided in Embodiment 3.
  • FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of a digital microfluidic droplet driving device provided in Embodiment 3;
  • Embodiment 11 is a digital microfluidic droplet driving method provided in Embodiment 4.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic top plan view of a digital microfluidic droplet driving device according to Embodiment 1
  • FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional structural view along a line A-A' of FIG. 1
  • FIG. 3 is a digital microfluidic control of FIG.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the control switch in FIG.
  • the digital microfluidic droplet driving device includes a first substrate 11, a second substrate 12 (only the second substrate 12 is shown in FIG. 1), and a control circuit layer. An accommodation space for the droplets 10 is formed between the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12.
  • a reference electrode layer 13 is disposed on a side of the first substrate 11 adjacent to the second substrate 12, and a first hydrophobic layer 14 is disposed on a side of the reference electrode layer 13 facing away from the first substrate 11.
  • a driving electrode layer 15 is disposed on a side of the second substrate 12 adjacent to the first substrate 11.
  • the driving electrode layer 15 includes a plurality of driving electrode blocks 151 which are insulated from each other.
  • the driving electrode layer 15 is provided with a dielectric side away from the second substrate 12
  • the layer 16, the side of the dielectric layer 16 facing away from the drive electrode layer 15, is provided with a second hydrophobic layer 17.
  • the control circuit layer includes a plurality of scan lines 21 disposed in parallel with each other and a plurality of first drive signal lines 22 disposed in parallel with each other.
  • the scan lines 21 and the first drive signal lines 22 intersect to define a plurality of control units 23, and the control unit 23 and The driving electrode blocks 151 are disposed one by one, and the control unit 23 includes a control switch 25.
  • the control switch 25 includes a control terminal 251, a signal input terminal 252 and a signal output terminal 253.
  • the control terminal 251 of the control switch is connected to the scan line 21, and the signal input terminal 252 of the control switch is connected to the first drive signal line 22.
  • the signal output terminal 253 is electrically connected to the driving electrode block 151.
  • the scanning signal on the scanning line 21 electrically connected to the driving electrode block 151 and the data on the first driving signal line 22 can be adjusted. Signal implementation.
  • the control circuit layer includes a plurality of scan lines disposed in parallel with each other and a plurality of first driving signal lines disposed in parallel with each other, wherein the scan lines and the first driving signal lines intersect to define a plurality of a control unit, the control unit is disposed in one-to-one correspondence with the driving electrode block, the control unit includes a control switch, the control switch includes a control end, a signal input end, and a signal output end, and the control switch controls The terminal is electrically connected to the scan line, the signal input end of the control switch is electrically connected to the first driving signal line, and the signal output end is electrically connected to the driving electrode block to pass the scan line and the first A driving signal line controls the first driving signal input on the driving electrode block to move the liquid droplet according to the planned moving path, which can solve the related art digital microfluidic droplet driving device, because one-to-one is adopted Input mode
  • the first drive signal input to each drive electrode block through the signal line such that the number of drive electrode blocks in
  • the single-channel droplet driving circuit is expanded to 20*20 (20 rows and 20 columns), that is, droplets having 400 independently-powered driving electrode blocks can be obtained.
  • the drive unit together with the corresponding digital droplet drive software, can realize the free movement, separation and combination of 100 droplets.
  • a droplet driving device having 400 driving electrode blocks requires 400 correspondingly connected signal lines, and the manufacturing difficulty is conceivable, and the embodiment of the present invention uses only 40 signal lines (including 20 scanning lines and 20 first lines).
  • the signal driving line can realize the driving of 400 electrode blocks, greatly reducing the number of signal lines and reducing the difficulty in manufacturing the digital microfluidic droplet driving device.
  • the rows and columns of the drop driving circuit can be infinitely expanded, and any large-scale customized high-throughput digital droplet driving platform can be obtained.
  • FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the digital microfluidic droplet driving device of FIG. 1
  • FIG. 6 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the working process of the digital microfluidic droplet driving device, and the numbers provided by the embodiments of the present invention are combined with FIG. 5 to FIG.
  • the driving method of the microfluidic droplet driving device will be described in detail.
  • the droplet driving method of the digital microfluidic droplet driving device comprises:
  • the current position information of the droplet 10 in this step may include the coordinate value of the driving electrode block corresponding to the position at which the droplet 10 is located.
  • a planned moving path of the liquid droplet is acquired based on current position information of the liquid droplet, and the planned moving path includes a moving direction and related information of each of the driving electrode blocks through which the moving path is planned.
  • the planned movement path may refer to the movement path of the droplet during the process of moving the droplet from the current position to the target position.
  • the planned moving path can be set by the experimenter according to the experimental purpose, or can be the default path of the digital microfluidic droplet driving device.
  • the related information of the driving electrode block may be position coordinates of the driving electrode block in the driving electrode layer.
  • the planned moving path may be set as the leading edge.
  • the horizontal direction is moved from (x 0 , y 0 ) to (x 0 +1, y 0 ) to (x 0 + 2, y), and then moved from (x 0 + 2, y 0 ) to (x 0) +2, y 0 +1) and then (x 0 +2, y 0 +2).
  • This step can determine the coordinate value of each driving electrode block through which the liquid droplet passes during the movement of the liquid droplet on the planned moving path according to the planned moving path of the liquid droplet, and the sequence of each driving electrode block.
  • the first driving signal value input on each driving electrode block through which the planned moving path passes is sequentially adjusted to move the liquid droplet according to the planned moving path.
  • the capacitance value of the capacitance formed by the driving electrode block and the reference electrode may change before and after the input of the first driving signal
  • the driving electrode block is charged with the reference electrode such that the hydrophobic film layer (including the first hydrophobic layer 14 and the second hydrophobic layer 17) at the position of the driving electrode block can be changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, and the droplet 10 and the hydrophobic film
  • the contact angle of the layer is varied, whereby the droplets can be driven to move toward the hydrophilic drive electrode block position.
  • the voltage values on the scan line 21 and the first signal driving line 22 are adjusted according to the sequence of each driving electrode block in the process of moving the droplets on the planned moving path, and each of the planned moving paths can be adjusted. And driving the first driving signal value input on the electrode block to move the liquid droplet according to the planned moving path.
  • the first substrate 11 may be a transparent glass substrate.
  • a transparent metal oxide electrode layer can be prepared as the reference electrode layer 13 on the first substrate 11 by thermal evaporation or magnetron sputtering.
  • the second substrate 12 may be a conventional PCB board.
  • the driving electrode block on the second substrate 12 may be made of a metal such as copper.
  • the plated metal layer may be etched into a metal block insulated from each other by an etching process or the like.
  • the material of the dielectric layer 16 may be an organic polymer material such as parylene, or an inorganic silicon oxide or aluminum oxide.
  • the first hydrophobic layer 14 and the second hydrophobic layer 17 may be prepared using a polytetrafluoroethylene material.
  • the dielectric layer 16, the first hydrophobic layer 14, and the second hydrophobic layer 17 may be prepared by spin coating.
  • the thickness of the first hydrophobic layer 14 and the second hydrophobic layer 17 may be 100 nm, and the dielectric layer 16 may be When the resin is prepared, the thickness of the dielectric layer 16 can be set to 2 ⁇ m.
  • the specific layout position of the control circuit layer in the digital microfluidic droplet driving device may be various, for example, the control circuit layer may be integrated on the second substrate 12; or the digital microfluidic droplet driving device may be Additional substrates are added and the control circuit layer is integrated on the other substrates.
  • the control circuit layer is integrated on the second substrate 12
  • the signal lines in the control circuit layer may be laid between the driving electrode blocks in the driving electrode layer 15; or the control circuit layer may be disposed on the second substrate 12
  • the control switch in the control circuit layer may be a transistor.
  • the gate of the transistor may be the control terminal of the control switch, and the source of the transistor may be the signal input end of the control switch, and the drain of the transistor may be the control switch. The output of the signal.
  • the digital microfluidic droplet driving device further includes a second driving signal line 31 and a third driving signal line 41.
  • the second driving signal line 31 is electrically connected to a reference electrode in the reference electrode layer 13; the third driving signal line 41 is electrically connected to the driving electrode block.
  • the driving method of the digital microfluidic droplet driving device comprises:
  • a planned moving path of the liquid droplet is acquired based on current position information of the liquid droplet, and the planned moving path includes a moving direction and related information of each of the driving electrode blocks through which the moving path is planned.
  • the first driving signal value input on each driving electrode block through which the planned moving path passes is sequentially adjusted, and the second driving signal is input to the reference electrode to the driving electrode layer.
  • a third drive signal is input to each of the drive electrode blocks to move the droplets in accordance with the planned movement path.
  • the information about the driving electrode block may be the position coordinate of the driving electrode block in the driving electrode layer.
  • a high voltage signal HV is supplied to the reference electrode 13 through the second driving signal line 31 and a high voltage signal HV is supplied to the driving electrode layer 15 through the third driving signal line 41, and the reference electrode 13 and the driving are raised.
  • the voltage of each of the driving electrode blocks in the electrode layer is then passed to the gate 251 of the transistor through the scan line 21 where the driving electrode block (x 0 +1, y 0 ) is located, through the driving electrode block (x) 0 +1, y 0 ) where the first driving signal line 222 passes a low level signal of 0V to the source 252 of the transistor, and the remaining first driving signal line 221 passes a high level signal of 5V, thereby
  • the gate source voltage of the transistor corresponding to the driving electrode block (x 0 +1, y 0 ) is greater than the transistor turn-on voltage, so that the transistor is turned on, and the remaining transistors are turned off, referring to FIG.
  • the driving electrode block (x 0 + 1, y 0 ) and the reference electrode 13 is formed relatively Potential difference, the remaining capacitance of the drive electrode block and the reference electrode 13 is formed of a potential difference is not present, may be such that the driving electrode block (x 0 + 1, y 0 ) corresponding to the dielectric layer 16 and a hydrophobic film layer 17 charged, the driving electrode block ( x 0 +1, y 0 )
  • the contact angle of the corresponding hydrophobic film layer 17 is changed to have hydrophilicity, so that the droplets on the hydrophobic film layer 17 move toward the hydrophilic hydrophobic layer, and then The digital drive of the droplets.
  • the digital microfluidic droplet driving device provided by the second embodiment of the present invention provides a control circuit layer including a plurality of scanning lines arranged in parallel with each other and a plurality of first driving signal lines arranged in parallel with each other and a driving electrode block.
  • a corresponding control unit is arranged, and the input of the control unit control signal is utilized, and the second driving signal line and the third driving signal line are respectively input signals to the reference electrode and the non-target driving electrode block, thereby realizing a large number of driving electrode blocks.
  • More effective single control at the same time can greatly reduce the number of signal lines, reduce the difficulty of digital micro-fluidic drive device manufacturing, greatly improve the number of independent electrode blocks and controllable droplet size in the microfluidic chip, achieving high
  • the function of free movement, separation and merging of density droplets provides the full potential of large-scale flexible multi-thread control of digital droplets.
  • the transistor and the diode can be connected in parallel, thereby facilitating the diode protection transistor to prevent transistor damage.
  • the current in the second driving signal line and the third driving signal line may be lowered by series resistance to protect the digital microfluidic droplet driving device.
  • the second driving signal line and the third driving signal line may be simultaneously prepared in the preparation process of the reference electrode or the driving electrode layer.
  • the pattern can be etched simultaneously by the pattern of the mask.
  • a copper driving electrode block and a third driving signal line may be simultaneously prepared in the preparation process of the reference electrode or the driving electrode layer.
  • FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a digital microfluidic droplet driving device provided in Embodiment 3.
  • FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of another digital microfluidic droplet driving device according to Embodiment 3.
  • the digital microfluidic droplet driving device further includes a third substrate 18 opposite to the second substrate 12 (ie, oppositely disposed); the second substrate 12 is located on the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 18
  • the third substrate 18 includes a first surface adjacent to the second substrate 12 and a plurality of connection pins 181; the control circuit layer is integrated on the third substrate 18, and the connection pin 181 is located on the first surface of the third substrate 18.
  • connection pin 181 is disposed in one-to-one correspondence with the driving electrode block on the second substrate 12; the control end of the control switch is electrically connected to the driving electrode block through the connecting pin 181; the third driving The signal line 41 is integrated on the third substrate 18, and the third driving signal line 41 is electrically connected to the driving electrode block 151 through the connection pin 181.
  • connection pin 181 may be configured to electrically connect the output end 253 of the control switch disposed on the third substrate 18 and the third driving signal line 41 to the corresponding driving electrode block disposed on the second substrate 12 at a certain distance. .
  • Locating the control circuit layer and the third driving signal line on the second substrate may cause current flow in the scan line and the driving signal line to affect the charging charge on the driving electrode block in the driving electrode layer, resulting in corresponding on the driving electrode block.
  • the hydrophobicity of the hydrophobic layer is disturbed, which interferes with the normal driving path of the droplet.
  • the control circuit layer and the third driving signal line and the driving electrode block are prepared on the same PCB board, that is, the second substrate, and the manufacturing cost of the control circuit layer is also high, due to the yield, The cost of the defective PCB board is too high.
  • the wiring (including the control circuit layer and the third driving signal line) is disposed on the third substrate, and the electrical connection between the control circuit layer and the driving electrode layer is realized by connecting the pins, thereby effectively preventing the second substrate from being
  • the driving electrode layer is interfered by the signals of the scanning lines and the driving signal lines in the control circuit layer, so that the droplet driving is more accurate.
  • the separately disposed driving electrode layer does not affect the third substrate where the control circuit layer and the third driving signal line are located, even if the PCB board fails to be fabricated during the preparation process, and the cost can be effectively reduced.
  • the connection pin can be a PIN pin as a connector for signal transmission into the drive electrode block.
  • the scan line, the first driving signal line, the control switch and the like and the third driving signal line in the control circuit layer on the third substrate may be disposed on the first surface or the other surface of the third substrate, and the scanning line and the A driving signal line is disposed inside the third substrate, and the connection between the component and the wiring is realized through the through hole, and the setting manner can be designed and selected according to actual conditions.
  • the distance between the control circuit layer and the third driving signal line and the driving electrode layer may be increased, that is, the driving is set.
  • the second substrate on which the electrode layer is located has a set distance (ie, there is a gap) between the control circuit layer and the third substrate where the third driving signal line is located, and the distance may be a minimum length of the PIN pin of 0.1 mm or a distance greater than 0.1 mm. .
  • the droplets are made
  • the second substrate is located at the same horizontal position, so as to ensure that the driving process of the droplets is not affected, and the thickness of the second substrate can be set to have a certain thickness, for example, 0.1 mm or more.
  • the embodiment of the present invention provides a digital microfluidic droplet driving method for the digital microfluidic droplet driving device according to the above embodiment
  • FIG. 11 is a digital microfluidic droplet driving method provided by the fourth embodiment.
  • the droplet driving method includes:
  • the first driving signal value input on each of the driving electrode blocks through which the planned moving path passes is sequentially adjusted to move the liquid droplets according to the planned moving path.
  • the digital microfluidic droplet driving method obtaineds the relevant information of the driving electrode block corresponding to the current position of the droplet and the planned moving path, and uses the scanning line and the first driving signal line in the control circuit layer. And a control unit disposed in one-to-one correspondence with the driving electrode block, sequentially adjusting the value of the first driving signal input on each of the driving electrode blocks through which the planned moving path passes, thereby achieving separate control of the plurality of driving electrode blocks, and being capable of greatly Reducing the number of signal lines, reducing the difficulty of manufacturing digital microfluidic droplet driving devices, greatly increasing the number of independent electrode blocks and the size of controllable droplets in the microfluidic chip, and realizing the free movement, separation and merging of high density droplets
  • the function provides the possibility to fully utilize the advantages of large-scale flexible multi-thread control of digital droplets.
  • the related information includes position coordinates of the driving electrode block in the driving electrode layer.
  • the target position may be a position coordinate of the driving electrode block in the driving motor layer
  • the digital microfluidic droplet driving device further includes a second driving signal line and a third driving signal line; the second driving signal line is located on a side of the first substrate adjacent to the second substrate, and is electrically connected to the reference electrode; The third driving signal line is located on a side of the second substrate adjacent to the first substrate, and is electrically connected to the driving electrode block.
  • step S130 of the digital microfluidic droplet driving method the first driving signal value input on each driving electrode block through which the planned moving path passes is sequentially adjusted according to the moving direction, so that the droplet moves according to the planned moving path.
  • Mobile can include:
  • the drive electrode block inputs a third drive signal to cause the droplet to move in accordance with the planned movement path.
  • the second driving may be simultaneously input to the reference electrode 13 through the second driving signal line 31.
  • the signal is used as the reference electrode voltage
  • the third driving signal is input to each of the driving electrode blocks through the third driving signal line 41.
  • the second driving signal and the third driving signal are both high voltage HV signals, so the reference electrode 13 and other driving electrode blocks are There is no potential difference between the two plates of the formed capacitor, so that no charging phenomenon occurs, and the value of the first driving signal input on each driving electrode block through which the moving path is planned is different from the value of the third driving signal, thereby making the movement
  • the second driving signal and the third driving signal can select a high-voltage pulse signal greater than 10V, for example, a square wave pulse signal can be selected.
  • the frequency and duty cycle of the square wave pulse signal can be selected based on the actual drive droplets and the required drive speed.
  • the square wave pulse used for droplet driving may have a frequency range greater than 1 Hz, and may be 1 kHz to ensure a suitable driving speed. Further, the driving speed may be adjusted based on the duty ratio of the square wave pulse. As an example, the duty ratio may be in the range of 1% to 99%, for example, may be 80%.
  • the peak value of the square wave pulse signal can also be selected according to the nature of the actual droplet. For example, when the droplet is a salt solution, the peak value of the square wave pulse signal can be selected as 30V; when the droplet is pure water or other poor conductivity In the case of droplets, the peak value can be 200V.
  • the digital microfluidic droplet driving device and driving method provided by the present disclosure can solve the related art digital microfluidic droplet driving device, and input to each driving electrode block through a signal line by adopting a one-to-one input mode.
  • the first driving signal so that the more the number of driving electrode blocks in the digital microfluidic droplet driving device, the more the number of matching signal lines, the more difficult the digital microfluidic droplet driving device is made.
  • the problem is that under the premise of a large number of driving electrode blocks, the number of signal lines is reduced, the manufacturing difficulty of the digital microfluidic droplet driving device is reduced, and the advantages of large-scale flexible multi-thread control of digital droplets are provided. possibility.

Abstract

一种数字微流控液滴驱动装置及驱动方法。数字微流控液滴驱动装置包括第一基板(11)；与第一基板(11)相对设置的第二基板(12)，第一基板(11)和第二基板(12)之间形成液滴(10)容纳空间；设置在第一基板(11)一侧的参考电极层(13)，设置在参考电极层(13)一侧的第一疏水层(14)；设置在第二基板(12)一侧的驱动电极层(15)，驱动电极层(15)包括多个彼此间隔设置的驱动电极块(151)；设置在驱动电极层(15)一侧的介电层(16)，设置在介电层(16)一侧的第二疏水层(17)；以及控制电路层。其中，控制电路层包括扫描线(21)和第一驱动信号线(22)，扫描线(21)和第一驱动信号线(22)交叉限定出多个控制单元(23)，控制单元(23)与驱动电极块(151)一一对应设置。

Description

数字微流控液滴驱动装置及驱动方法 技术领域
本实施例涉及数字液滴微流控技术，例如涉及一种数字微流控液滴驱动装置及驱动方法。
背景技术
现代生物医学工程技术的发展，微流控芯片和芯片实验室技术越来越广泛的关注。
由于微流控芯片所具备的灵活性、简单易用性和可重复使用性等性能，可在基因组学、蛋白质组学以及精准医疗等生物医学研究和应用中提供强大的样本前处理能力。微流控芯片的基本特征和最大优势是多种单元技术在微小可控平台上灵活组合和规模集成，可控制微芯片上的试剂进行自动采样、稀释、加试剂、分离等操作，实现微芯片的实验室功能。数字液滴微流控技术是微流控芯片技术的一种重要研究方向，数字液滴微流控技术的液滴驱动机理为电润湿和介电泳。数字微流控技术一般采用液滴驱动电压为一对一的输入模式，在液滴相应的下置电极上加电，受电场作用，液滴在介电质表面张力减小，接触角变小，介电质表面张力的改变引发液滴受力不平衡，从而驱动液滴在芯片平面上运动。
数字微流控液滴驱动装置多采用一对一的输入模式通过信号线向多个电极输入信号，进而控制液滴的运动。具体地，数字微流控液滴驱动装置包括第一基板、与第一基板对置的第二基板，第一基板和第二基板之间形成液滴容纳空间，第二基板靠近第一基板的一侧设置有驱动电极层，驱动电极层包括多个彼此间隔设置的驱动电极块，每个驱动电极块与一条信号线相连，不同的驱动电极块与不同的信号线相连。显然，相关技术中的数字微流控液滴驱动装置中，驱动电极块的数量越多，与之匹配的信号线的数量也越多，数字微流控液滴驱动装置的制作难度越大，无疑这会大大限制了数字液滴大规模灵活多线程控制等优势的充分发挥。
发明内容
本公开提供一种数字微流控液滴驱动装置及驱动方法，能够在驱动电极块 数目众多的前提下，减少信号线的数量，降低数字微流控液滴驱动装置的制作难度，为数字液滴大规模灵活多线程控制等优势的充分发挥提供可能性。
本发明实施例提供了一种数字微流控液滴驱动装置，包括：
第一基板；
与所述第一基板相对设置的第二基板；所述第一基板和所述第二基板之间形成有液滴的容纳空间；
设置在所述第一基板靠近所述第二基板的一侧的参考电极层；
设置在所述参考电极层背离所述第一基板的一侧的第一疏水层；
设置在所述第二基板靠近所述第一基板的一侧的驱动电极层，所述驱动电极层包括多个彼此间隔设置的驱动电极块；
设置在所述驱动电极层背离所述第二基板的一侧的介电层；
设置在所述介电层背离所述驱动电极层的一侧的第二疏水层；以及
控制电路层，其中，所述控制电路层包括多条彼此平行设置的扫描线、多条彼此平行设置的第一驱动信号线以及所述扫描线和所述第一驱动信号线交叉限定的多个控制单元，所述控制单元与所述驱动电极块一一对应设置，所述控制单元包括控制开关，所述控制开关包括控制端、信号输入端和信号输出端，所述控制开关的所述控制端与所述扫描线电连接，所述控制开关的所述信号输入端与所述第一驱动信号线电连接，且所述信号输出端与所述驱动电极块电连接。
可选的，还包括第二驱动信号线和第三驱动信号线；
所述第二驱动信号线与所述参考电极层电连接；
所述第三驱动信号线与所述驱动电极块电连接。
其中，所述控制电路层集成于所述第二基板上。
可选的，还包括：与所述第二基板相对设置的第三基板；所述第二基板位于所述第一基板和所述第三基板之间；
所述第三基板包括靠近所述第二基板的第一表面以及多个连接引脚；
所述控制电路层集成于所述第三基板上，所述连接引脚位于所述第三基板的所述第一表面上，且与所述控制开关的输出端电连接，所述连接引脚与所述第二基板上的所述驱动电极块一一对应设置；所述控制开关的控制端通过所述连接引脚与所述驱动电极块电连接；
所述第三驱动信号线集成于所述第三基板上，所述第三驱动信号线通过所 述连接引脚与所述驱动电极块电连接。
可选的，所述第二基板和所述第三基板之间存在间隙。
可选的，所述间隙的宽度大于或等于0.1mm
可选的，所述第二基板的厚度大于或等于0.1mm。
本发明实施例还提供了一种针对第一方面任一所述的数字微流控液滴驱动装置的数字微流控液滴驱动方法，包括：
获取液滴当前位置对应的驱动电极块的相关信息和所述液滴的目标位置；
基于所述相关信息和所述目标位置获取所述液滴的规划移动路径，所述规划移动路径包括移动方向以及所述规划移动路径所经过的每个所述驱动电极块的相关信息；
按照所述移动方向，依次调整所述规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，以使所述液滴按照所述规划移动路径移动。
可选的，所述相关信息包括所述驱动电极块在驱动电极层中的位置坐标。
可选的，所述按照所述移动方向，依次调整所述规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，以使所述液滴按照所述规划移动路径移动，包括：
按照所述移动方向，依次调整所述规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，同时向参考电极输入第二驱动信号，且向所述驱动电极层中的每个驱动电极块输入第三驱动信号，以使所述液滴按照所述规划移动路径移动。
其中，所述第二驱动信号和第三驱动信号包括方波脉冲信号。
可选的，所述方波脉冲信号的频率大于1Hz，占空比的范围为1％～99％。
本实施例可以解决相关技术的数字微流控液滴驱动装置中，因采用一对一的输入模式通过信号线向每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号，使得当数字微流控液滴驱动装置中驱动电极块的数量越多时，与之匹配的信号线的数量也越多，数字微流控液滴驱动装置的制作难度越大的问题，实现在驱动电极块数目众多的前提下，减少信号线的数量，降低数字微流控液滴驱动装置的制作难度，为数字液滴大规模灵活多线程控制等优势的充分发挥提供可能性。
附图概述
图1是实施例一提供的数字微流控液滴驱动装置的俯视结构示意图；
图2是沿图1中A-A’的剖面结构示意图；
图3是图1中数字微流控液滴驱动装置中控制电路层的结构示意图；
图4是图3中控制开关示意图；
图5为图1中的数字微流控液滴驱动装置的电路图；
图6为数字微流控液滴驱动装置工作过程的等效电路图；
图7是实施例二提供的另一种数字微流控液滴驱动装置的电路图；
图8是图7中晶体管截止和导通状态时的等效电路图；
图9是实施例三提供的数字微流控液滴驱动装置的剖面示意图；
图10是实施例三提供的数字微流控液滴驱动装置的电路图；
图11是实施例四提供的数字微流控液滴驱动方法。
具体实施方式
实施例一
图1是实施例一提供的一种数字微流控液滴驱动装置俯视结构示意图，图2是沿图1中剖面线A-A’的剖面结构示意图，图3是图1中数字微流控液滴驱动装置中控制电路层的结构示意图，图4是图3中控制开关示意图。参考图1、图2、图3和图4，该数字微流控液滴驱动装置包括第一基板11、第二基板12(图1中仅示出了第二基板12)以及控制电路层，第一基板11和第二基板12之间形成液滴10的容纳空间。其中，第一基板11靠近第二基板12的一侧设置有参考电极层13，参考电极层13背离第一基板11一侧设置有第一疏水层14。第二基板12靠近第一基板11一侧设置有驱动电极层15，驱动电极层15中包括多个彼此绝缘设置的驱动电极块151，驱动电极层15背离第二基板12一侧设置有介电层16，介电层16背离驱动电极层15的一侧设置有第二疏水层17。控制电路层包含多条彼此平行设置的扫描线21和多条彼此平行设置的第一驱动信号线22，扫描线21和第一驱动信号线22交叉限定出多个控制单元23，控制单元23与驱动电极块151一一对应设置，控制单元23中包括控制开关25。控制开关25包括控制端251、信号输入端252和信号输出端253，控制开关的控制端251连接扫描线21，控制开关的信号输入端252连接第一驱动信号线22。所述信号输出端253与所述驱动电极块151电连接。
继续参见图3，当需要向任意一个驱动电极块151提供第一驱动信号时，可以通过调整与该驱动电极块151电连接的扫描线21上的扫描信号以及第一驱动 信号线22上的数据信号实现。
本发明实施例通过设置所述控制电路层包括多条彼此平行设置的扫描线和多条彼此平行设置的第一驱动信号线，所述扫描线和所述第一驱动信号线交叉限定出多个控制单元，所述控制单元与所述驱动电极块一一对应设置，所述控制单元包括控制开关，所述控制开关包括控制端、信号输入端和信号输出端，所述控制开关的所述控制端与所述扫描线电连接，所述控制开关的所述信号输入端与所述第一驱动信号线电连接，所述信号输出端与所述驱动电极块电连接，以通过扫描线和第一驱动信号线控制驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号，以使所述液滴按照所述规划移动路径移动，可以解决相关技术的数字微流控液滴驱动装置中，因采用一对一的输入模式通过信号线向每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号，使得当数字微流控液滴驱动装置中驱动电极块的数量越多时，与之匹配的信号线的数量也越多，数字微流控液滴驱动装置的制作难度越大的问题，实现在驱动电极块数目众多的前提下，减少信号线的数量，降低数字微流控液滴驱动装置的制作难度，为数字液滴大规模灵活多线程控制等优势的充分发挥提供可能性。
示例性的，根据本实施例提供的方案，将单路的液滴驱动电路扩展为20*20(20行和20列)，即可以得到具备400个可独立加电的驱动电极块的液滴驱动装置，配合相应的数字液滴驱动软件，可实现100个液滴的自由移动、分离及合并功能。相关技术中具备400个驱动电极块的液滴驱动装置需要400条对应连接的信号线，制作难度可以想象，而本发明实施例仅仅使用40条信号线(包括20条扫描线和20条第一信号驱动线)即可实现对400个电极块的驱动，大大缩减了信号线的数量，降低了数字微流控液滴驱动装置的制作难度。此外，通过上述方案，滴驱动电路的行和列可以进行无限扩展，可得到任意大规模定制化的高通量数字液滴驱动平台。
图5为图1中的数字微流控液滴驱动装置的电路图，图6为数字微流控液滴驱动装置工作过程的等效电路图，下面结合图5至图6对本发明实施例提供的数字微流控液滴驱动装置的驱动方法进行详细说明。该数字微流控液滴驱动装置的液滴驱动方法包括：
在S1110中，当液滴被滴入该数字微流控液滴驱动装置中后，获取液滴的当前位置信息。
在本步骤中液滴10的当前位置信息可以包括液滴10所处位置对应的驱动 电极块的坐标值。
在S1120中，基于液滴的当前位置信息获取所述液滴的规划移动路径，规划移动路径包括移动方向以及规划移动路径所经过的每个所述驱动电极块的相关信息。
规划移动路径可以是指计划将液滴由当前位置移到目标位置的过程中，液滴的移动路径。规划移动路径可以为实验人员根据实验目的而自行设置的，也可以为该数字微流控液滴驱动装置的默认路径。可选的，驱动电极块的相关信息可以是驱动电极块在驱动电极层中的位置坐标。
示例性地，若该液滴当前位置坐标值为(x 0，y 0)，该液滴目标移动位置为(x 0+2，y 0+2)，则可以设定规划移动路径为先沿横向由(x 0，y 0)移动到(x 0+1，y 0)再到(x 0+2，y)，然后再沿纵向由(x 0+2，y 0)移动到(x 0+2，y 0+1)再到(x 0+2，y 0+2)。
本步骤可以根据液滴的规划移动路径，确定液滴在规划移动路径上移动的过程中，液滴所经过的每个驱动电极块的坐标值，以及经过每个驱动电极块的先后顺序。
在S1130中，按照规划移动路径，依次调整规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，以使液滴按照规划移动路径移动。
示例性的，当向与液滴10当前位置信息相邻的驱动电极块输入第一驱动信号时，输入第一驱动信号前后，该驱动电极块与参考电极形成的电容的电容值可以发生变化，该驱动电极块与参考电极充电，使得该驱动电极块位置处的疏水膜层(包括第一疏水层14和第二疏水层17)可以由疏水性变为亲水性，液滴10与疏水膜层(包括第一疏水层14和第二疏水层17)的接触角发生变化，由此可以驱动液滴向该具有亲水性的驱动电极块位置移动。
本步骤按照液滴在规划移动路径上移动的过程中经过每个驱动电极块的先后顺序，调整扫描线21和第一信号驱动线22上电压值，可以调整所述规划移动路径经过的每个所述驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，使所述液滴按照所述规划移动路径移动。
可选地，在上述技术方案中，第一基板11可以为透明的玻璃基板。在具体制作时，可以通过热蒸镀或者磁控溅射在第一基板11上制备一层透明的金属氧化物电极层作为参考电极层13。第二基板12可以选用常规的PCB板，第二基板12上的驱动电极块可采用铜等金属，可以通过刻蚀工艺等将镀好的金属层刻 蚀成彼此绝缘的金属块，即形成驱动电极块。介电层16的材质可以选用有机高分子材料例如派瑞林，也可以选用无机的氧化硅或氧化铝等。第一疏水层14与第二疏水层17可采用聚四氟乙烯材料制备。其中，介电层16、第一疏水层14和第二疏水层17可以通过旋涂的方式制备，第一疏水层14和第二疏水层17的厚度可以是100nm，介电层16若采用派瑞林制备时，该介电层16的厚度可以设置为2μm。
该数字微流控液滴驱动装置中的控制电路层的具体布设位置可以有多种，例如，可以将控制电路层集成于第二基板12上；也可在该数字微流控液滴驱动装置中增设其他基板，并将控制电路层集成于所增设其他基板上。其中，若将控制电路层集成于第二基板12上，可以将控制电路层中的信号线铺设于驱动电极层15中的驱动电极块之间；也可将控制电路层设置于第二基板12背离驱动电极层15的一侧，并可以通过贯穿第二基板12的过孔实现电连接，例如将驱动电极层15和控制电路层设置在同一PCB板的不同层中。
控制电路层中的控制开关可以是晶体管，此时，晶体管的栅极可以为该控制开关的控制端，晶体管的源极可以为该控制开关的信号输入端，晶体管的漏极可以为该控制开关的输信号出端。
实施例二
图7是实施例二提供的另一种数字微流控液滴驱动装置的电路图；图8是图7中晶体管截止和导通状态时的等效电路图。在本实施例中，数字微流控液滴驱动装置还包括第二驱动信号线31和第三驱动信号线41。参见图7和图8，所述第二驱动信号线31与所述参考电极层13中的参考电极电连接；所述第三驱动信号线41与所述驱动电极块电连接。
下面结合图7和图8对本实施例提供的数字微流控液滴驱动装置的驱动方法进行详细说明。该数字微流控液滴驱动装置的液滴驱动方法包括：
在S1210中，当液滴被滴入该数字微流控液滴驱动装置中后，获取液滴的当前位置信息。
在S1220中，基于液滴的当前位置信息获取所述液滴的规划移动路径，规划移动路径包括移动方向以及规划移动路径所经过的每个所述驱动电极块的相关信息。
在S1230中，按照所述规划移动路径，依次调整所述规划移动路径经过的 每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，同时向参考电极输入第二驱动信号，向驱动电极层中的每个驱动电极块输入第三驱动信号，以使所述液滴按照所述规划移动路径移动。
其中，驱动电极块的相关信息可以为所述驱动电极块在驱动电极层中的位置坐标。
示例性地，参考图7，通过第二驱动信号线31向参考电极13通入高压信号HV并通过第三驱动信号线41向驱动电极层15通入高压信号HV，抬高参考电极13和驱动电极层中的每个驱动电极块的电压，然后通过驱动电极块(x 0+1，y 0)所在的扫描线21给晶体管的栅极251通入高电平信号，通过驱动电极块(x 0+1，y 0)所在的第一驱动信号线222给晶体管的源极252通入0V的低电平信号，其余第一驱动信号线221则通入5V的高电平信号，由此可实现驱动电极块(x 0+1，y 0)对应的晶体管栅源电压大于晶体管开启电压，使该晶体管导通，而其余晶体管则截止，参考图8，由于驱动电极块(x 0+1，y 0)通过晶体管导通将原本的高压拉低为低电平，而其他驱动电极块由于晶体管截止，仍为高压，在驱动电极块(x 0+1，y 0)和参考电极13形成的电容中，驱动电极块(x 0+1，y 0)与参考电极13形成较大的电势差，其余驱动电极块和参考电极13形成的电容则不存在电势差，可以使得驱动电极块(x 0+1，y 0)对应的介电层16和疏水膜层17充电，驱动电极块(x 0+1，y 0)对应的疏水膜层17的接触角发生改变，从而具备了亲水性，致使疏水膜层17上的液滴向具有亲水性的疏水膜层处移动，继而实现了液滴的数字驱动。
本发明实施例二提供的数字微流控液滴驱动装置，通过设置控制电路层，其中包括多条彼此平行设置的扫描线和多条彼此平行设置的第一驱动信号线以及与驱动电极块一一对应设置的控制单元，并利用控制单元控制信号的输入，利用第二驱动信号线和第三驱动信号线向参考电极和非目标驱动电极块分别输入信号，实现了对数目众多的驱动电极块更为有效地单独控制，同时能够大大减少信号线的数量，降低数字微流控驱动装置的制作难度，大幅度提高了微流控芯片中独立电极块数量及可控液滴规模，实现了高密度液滴的自由移动、分离及合并功能，为数字液滴大规模灵活多线程控制等优势的充分发挥提供可能。
继续参见图7，该数字微流控液滴驱动装置中，晶体管和二极管可以并联，从而可以利于二极管保护晶体管，以防晶体管损坏。
可选的，还可以通过串联电阻来降低第二驱动信号线和第三驱动信号线中 的电流，以对该数字微流控液滴驱动装置进行保护。
制作时，第二驱动信号线和第三驱动信号线可在参考电极或驱动电极层制备过程中同时制备，例如铜的驱动电极层制备过程中，通过掩膜板的图案调控，可以同时刻蚀出铜的驱动电极块和第三驱动信号线。
实施例三
图9是实施例三提供的数字微流控液滴驱动装置的剖面示意图，图10是实施例三提供的另一种数字微流控液滴驱动装置的电路图。参见图9和图10，该数字微流控液滴驱动装置还包括与第二基板12对置(即相对设置)的第三基板18；第二基板12位于第一基板11和第三基板18之间；第三基板18包括靠近第二基板12的第一表面以及多个连接引脚181；控制电路层集成于第三基板18上，连接引脚181位于第三基板18的第一表面上，且与控制开关的输出端电连接，连接引脚181与第二基板12上的驱动电极块一一对应设置；控制开关的控制端通过连接引脚181与驱动电极块电连接；第三驱动信号线41集成于所述第三基板18上，所述第三驱动信号线41通过所述连接引脚181与所述驱动电极块151电连接。
其中，连接引脚181可以设置为将设置在第三基板18上的控制开关的输出端253以及第三驱动信号线41与设置在第二基板12上对应的驱动电极块实现一定距离地电连接。
将控制电路层及第三驱动信号线设置在第二基板上，可能会使得扫描线和驱动信号线中的电流流动影响驱动电极层中驱动电极块上的充电电荷，导致驱动电极块上对应的疏水层的疏水性混乱，干扰了液滴的正常驱动路径。并且，在实际工艺中，将控制电路层和第三驱动信号线与驱动电极块制备在同一PCB板即第二基板上，还会使得控制电路层的制备成本较高，由于成品率的原因，残次PCB板所消耗的成本代价过高。本发明实施例将布线(包括控制电路层和第三驱动信号线)设置于第三基板上，通过连接引脚实现控制电路层与驱动电极层一定距离的电连接，能够有效防止第二基板上的驱动电极层受到控制电路层中扫描线和驱动信号线的信号干扰，使液滴驱动更加精确。并且，在实际制备工艺过程中，分开设置的驱动电极层即使在制备过程中PCB板制作失败，也不会影响控制电路层和第三驱动信号线所在的第三基板，可以有效降低成本消耗。
该连接引脚可以为PIN针，以作为向驱动电极块中通入信号传输的连接器。第三基板上控制电路层中的扫描线、第一驱动信号线、控制开关等元器件以及第三驱动信号线可以设置于第三基板第一表面或者另一表面，也可将扫描线和第一驱动信号线设置在第三基板内部，通过通孔实现元器件和布线的连接，设置方式可根据实际情况进行设计选择。
其中，为了进一步防止控制电路层中扫描线和第一驱动信号线以及第三驱动信号线的信号干扰，可以将控制电路层和第三驱动信号线与驱动电极层的距离拉大，即设置驱动电极层所在的第二基板与控制电路层和第三驱动信号线所在的第三基板存在设定的距离(即存在间隙)，该距离可以是PIN针的最小长度0.1mm或者大于0.1mm的距离。
除此之外，由于第二基板和第三基板通过连接引脚实现连接，为了保证第二基板和第三基板在对接连接引脚的过程中防止第二基板因为按压导致的变形，使液滴所在的第二基板每处都处于同一水平位置，从而确保液滴的驱动过程不受影响，可以设置第二基板的厚度具备一定的厚度，例如可以是0.1mm或以上。
实施例四
本发明实施例提供了一种针对上述实施例所述的数字微流控液滴驱动装置的数字微流控液滴驱动方法，图11是本实施例四提供的数字微流控液滴驱动方法，参考图11，该液滴驱动方法包括：
在S110中、获取液滴当前位置对应的驱动电极块的相关信息和所述液滴的目标位置；
在S120中、基于所述相关信息和所述目标位置获取液滴的规划移动路径，所述规划移动路径包括移动方向以及规划移动路径所经过的每个驱动电极块的相关信息；
在S130中、按照所述移动方向，依次调整所述规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，以使液滴按照规划移动路径移动。
本发明实施例提供的一种数字微流控液滴驱动方法，通过获取液滴当前位置对应的驱动电极块的相关信息和规划移动路径，利用控制电路层中的扫描线、第一驱动信号线以及与驱动电极块一一对应设置的控制单元，依次调整规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，可以实现对数目众多的驱动电极块的单独控制，同时能够大大减少信号线的数量，降低数字微流控 液滴驱动装置的制作难度，大幅度提高微流控芯片中独立电极块数量及可控液滴规模，实现高密度液滴的自由移动、分离及合并功能，为数字液滴大规模灵活多线程控制等优势的充分发挥提供可能性。
可选的，所述相关信息包括所述驱动电极块在驱动电极层中的位置坐标。目标位置可以为驱动电极块在驱动电机层中的位置坐标
可选的，数字微流控液滴驱动装置还包括第二驱动信号线和第三驱动信号线；第二驱动信号线位于第一基板靠近第二基板的一侧，且与参考电极电连接；第三驱动信号线位于述第二基板靠近第一基板的一侧，且与驱动电极块电连接。
数字微流控液滴驱动方法的步骤S130中，按照所述移动方向，依次调整所述规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，以使液滴按照规划移动路径移动，可以包括：
按照所述移动方向，依次调整所述规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，同时向参考电极输入第二驱动信号，且向所述驱动电极层中的每个驱动电极块输入第三驱动信号，以使液滴按照规划移动路径移动。
其中，在依次调整规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值时，示例性地，参考图8，可以同时通过第二驱动信号线31向参考电极13输入第二驱动信号作为参考电极电压，通过第三驱动信号线41向每个驱动电极块输入第三驱动信号，第二驱动信号和第三驱动信号相同均为高压HV信号，所以参考电极13与其他驱动电极块所构成的电容的两极板之间不存在电势差，从而不会产生充电现象，而规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值与第三驱动信号值不同，从而使得移动方向上与液滴相邻的驱动电极块与参考电极13形成的电容两极板之间存在电势差，由此产生充电现象，使该位置处的介电层和疏水膜层充电，疏水膜层变为亲水，继而通过该处的亲水性驱动液滴移动。
由于介电层的厚度较小，如介电层的厚度可能只有2μm，在每个驱动电极块上经常性地输入较高电压值的第三驱动信号时，可能会使介电层的寿命变短，更甚至可能会使介电层击穿，使液滴驱动装置工作失常，因此第二驱动信号和第三驱动信号可以选用大于10V的高压脉冲信号，如可以选用方波脉冲信号。其中该方波脉冲信号的频率和占空比可以根据实际的驱动液滴和需要的驱动速度来进行选择。当液滴为去离子水时，示例性的，液滴驱动所使用的方波脉冲的频率范围可以大于1Hz，为保证合适的驱动速度，可选为1kHz。此外，也可 以基于方波脉冲的占空比调整驱动速度，示例性的，占空比可为1％～99％的范围，如可以为80％。该方波脉冲信号的峰值也可以根据实际液滴的性质进行选择，例如当液滴为盐溶液时，该方波脉冲信号的峰值可选30V；当液滴为纯水或其他导电性不良的液滴时，峰值可以为200V。
工业实用性
本公开提供的数字微流控液滴驱动装置及驱动方法，可以解决相关技术的数字微流控液滴驱动装置中，因采用一对一的输入模式通过信号线向每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号，使得当数字微流控液滴驱动装置中驱动电极块的数量越多时，与之匹配的信号线的数量也越多，数字微流控液滴驱动装置的制作难度越大的问题，实现了在驱动电极块数目众多的前提下，减少信号线的数量，降低数字微流控液滴驱动装置的制作难度，为数字液滴大规模灵活多线程控制等优势的充分发挥提供可能性。

Claims (12)

  1. 一种数字微流控液滴驱动装置，包括：
    第一基板；
    与所述第一基板相对设置的第二基板；所述第一基板和所述第二基板之间形成有液滴的容纳空间；
    设置在所述第一基板靠近所述第二基板的一侧的参考电极层；
    设置在所述参考电极层背离所述第一基板的一侧的第一疏水层；
    设置在所述第二基板靠近所述第一基板的一侧的驱动电极层，所述驱动电极层包括多个彼此间隔设置的驱动电极块；
    设置在所述驱动电极层背离所述第二基板的一侧的介电层；
    设置在所述介电层背离所述驱动电极层的一侧的第二疏水层；以及
    控制电路层，其中，所述控制电路层包括多条彼此平行设置的扫描线、多条彼此平行设置的第一驱动信号线以及所述扫描线和所述第一驱动信号线交叉限定的多个控制单元，所述控制单元与所述驱动电极块一一对应设置，所述控制单元包括控制开关，所述控制开关包括控制端、信号输入端和信号输出端，所述控制开关的所述控制端与所述扫描线电连接，所述控制开关的所述信号输入端与所述第一驱动信号线电连接，且所述信号输出端与所述驱动电极块电连接。
  2. 根据权利要求1所述的数字微流控液滴驱动装置，还包括第二驱动信号线和第三驱动信号线；
    所述第二驱动信号线与所述参考电极层电连接；
    所述第三驱动信号线与所述驱动电极块电连接。
  3. 根据权利要求1所述的数字微流控液滴驱动装置，其中，所述控制电路层集成于所述第二基板上。
  4. 根据权利要求1所述的数字微流控液滴驱动装置，还包括：
    与所述第二基板相对设置的第三基板；所述第二基板位于所述第一基板和所述第三基板之间；
    所述第三基板包括靠近所述第二基板的第一表面以及多个连接引脚；
    所述控制电路层集成于所述第三基板上，所述连接引脚位于所述第三基板的所述第一表面上，且与所述控制开关的输出端电连接，所述连接引脚与所述第二基板上的所述驱动电极块一一对应设置；所述控制开关的控制端通过所述连接引脚与所述驱动电极块电连接；
    所述第三驱动信号线集成于所述第三基板上，所述第三驱动信号线通过所述连接引脚与所述驱动电极块电连接。
  5. 根据权利要求4所述的数字微流控液滴驱动装置，其中，所述第二基板和所述第三基板之间存在间隙。
  6. 根据权利要求5所述的数字微流控液滴驱动装置，其中，所述间隙的宽度大于或等于0.1mm。
  7. 根据权利要求4所述的数字微流控液滴驱动装置，其中，所述第二基板的厚度大于或等于0.1mm。
  8. 一种针对权利要求1-7任一项所述的数字微流控液滴驱动装置的数字微流控液滴驱动方法，包括：
    获取液滴当前位置对应的驱动电极块的相关信息和所述液滴的目标位置；
    基于所述相关信息和所述目标位置获取所述液滴的规划移动路径，所述规划移动路径包括移动方向以及所述规划移动路径所经过的每个驱动电极块的相关信息；
    按照所述移动方向，依次调整所述规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，以使所述液滴按照所述规划移动路径移动。
  9. 根据权利要求8所述的方法，其中，所述相关信息包括所述驱动电极块在驱动电极层中的位置坐标。
  10. 根据权利要求8所述的数字微流控液滴驱动方法，其中，所述按照所述移动方向，依次调整所述规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，以使所述液滴按照所述规划移动路径移动，包括：
    按照所述移动方向，依次调整所述规划移动路径经过的每个驱动电极块上输入的第一驱动信号值，同时向参考电极输入第二驱动信号，且向所述驱动电极层中的每个驱动电极块输入第三驱动信号，以使所述液滴按照所述规划移动 路径移动。
  11. 根据权利要求10所述的数字微流控液滴驱动方法，其中，所述第二驱动信号和第三驱动信号包括方波脉冲信号。
  12. 根据权利要求11所述的数字微流控液滴驱动方法，其中，所述方波脉冲信号的频率大于1Hz，占空比的范围为1％～99％。
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