Optimization of the dielectric layer for electrowetting on dielectric

In this work the minimum actuation voltage Vmin for droplet actuation with electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) is analyzed. At first, the theoretical background of drop transport with EWOD is shown. Then the impact of thin dielectric films deposited with atomic layer deposition (ALD) and super-hydrophobic layers on the minimum required actuation voltage for drop transport are presented. To this, contact angles are measured on both Al2O3 and fluorinated DLC each with a drop of water. For verify the hypothesis, the analytically calculated values for the minimum actuation voltage Vmin are compared with numerical simulation results using COMSOL Multiphysics®. The results show that the actuation voltage value from the simulation is lower than calculated analytically.