Localized ultrahigh frequency acoustic fields induced micro-vortices for submilliseconds microfluidic mixing

Abstract

We present an acoustic microfluidic mixing approach via acousto-mechanically induced micro-vortices sustained by localized ultrahigh frequency (UHF) acoustic fields. A micro-fabricated solid-mounted thin-film piezoelectric resonator (SMR) with a frequency of 1.54 GHz has been integrated into microfluidic systems. Experimental and simulation results show that UHF-SMR triggers strong acoustic field gradients to produce efficient and highly localized acoustic streaming vortices, providing a powerful source for microfluidic mixing. Homogeneous mixing with 87% mixing efficiency at a Peclet number of 35520 within 1 ms has been achieved. The proposed strategy shows a great potential for microfluidic mixing and enhanced molecule transportation in minimized analytical systems.