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Article
Soft Microgripping Using Ionic Liquid Droplet for High Temperature and Vacuum Applications
Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering
  • Abdullah Al Amin, The University Of Akron
  • Ashish V. Jagtiani, The University Of Akron
  • Abhay Vasudev
  • Jun Hu, The University Of Akron
  • Jiang Zhe, University of Akron Main Campus
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-24-2011
Abstract

Aqueous droplet-based micro-gripper has been used for micro-assembly. However they cannot be used for high temperature and vacuum applications. Ionic liquids, organic salts that have a lower melting point temperature, appear suitable for droplet-based micro-gripping application in high temperature and vacuum environments because of their nonvolatility and thermal stability. In this paper, we demonstrated the use of ionic liquid as the operating liquid for micro-gripping applications in high temperatures (up to 110 °C) and vacuum (up to 24 inch Hg) environments. Electrowetting was utilized to dynamically change the contact angle of a 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BmimPF6) liquid bridge to control the capillary lifting forces. The lifting force generated by the liquid bridge was experimentally characterized. The range of capillary lifting forces can be adjusted by changing the liquid bridge height and droplet volume to pick up and release objects with different weights. The dynamic response of the BmimPF6 liquid bridge was also characterized.

Citation Information
Abdullah Al Amin, Ashish V. Jagtiani, Abhay Vasudev, Jun Hu, et al.. "Soft Microgripping Using Ionic Liquid Droplet for High Temperature and Vacuum Applications" Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering Vol. 21 Iss. 12 (2011) p. 25
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jaing_zhe/27/