Splitting droplets in a channel by help of surface acoustic wave

A new method for splitting droplets in a channel was presented. Two interdigital transducers were fabricated on a 1280 yx-LiNbO3 substrate using microelectrical technology. A poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) channel with PVC sheet and a PDMS block was mounted on the piezoelectric substrate. Surface acoustic waves were used to change the volume ratio of the split daughter droplets. Splitting experiments were done using red aqueous droplets in paraffin oil. Results show that surface acoustic waves can affect the ratio of split daughter droplets. A PDMS block in one of the daughter microchannels can obviate the remerging of daughter droplets. The work is helpful for microfluidic analysis on piezoelectric microfluidic devices.