Effect of Temperature and Dielectric Material on Droplet Velocity in Digital Microfluidics

This study analyzes the effect of droplet temperature on terminal velocity in digital microfluidic (DMF) devices. Five dielectric materials were tested to investigate this effect for different materials. Results show that terminal droplet velocity was found to increase with increasing temperature. However, the velocity was saturated as the temperature exceeded a specific value. We called this value "saturation temperature," which depends on dielectric material properties. Results were verified theoretically using simplified droplet transport dynamics in DMF. Moreover, this study will provide a framework to efficiently choose the required dielectric material and actuating voltage in DMF