High-efficiency passive micromixer using three-dimensional printed molds

The micromixer is a very common component in the state-of-the-art lab-on-chip devices and occupies large chip areas to fulfill the rather challenging process of mixing in microscales. Two various design micromixers are introduced, which show a step over efficiency in the microlevel mixing. Finite-element method (FEM) tools were utilized to assess the mixing efficiency of the presented micromixers versus common T- and zigzag-shaped mixers. Using the availability of three-dimensional printing features, the chaotic advection is maximized as a mainstream factor affecting microscale behavior of the mixer. Both FEM and experimental results prove a 95% improvement in the performance of micromixers for low Reynolds numbers at 1 versus 8 cm for conventional devices.