Experimental and numerical acoustofluidics in bulk acoustic wave devices at ETH Zurich

Ultrasonic fluid cavity resonances in acoustofluidic micro-devices can be exploited to miniaturize important operations for the handling of beads, cells, droplets, and other particles. With a growing number of experimentally tested unit operations, acoustofluidics holds increasing promise for emerging applications in bio- and microtechnology on lab-on-a-chip systems. We provide an overview of our research activities during the last years with a focus on the latest experimental setups and advances in the numerical simulation. Specifically, we present micro-devices with impedance matched cavity walls that allow a more flexible device design. Further, we show devices for the handling of fluid droplets and report on a method for the direct measurement of the acoustic radiation force on micro-particles. Due to the rapidly growing computational capabilities, numerical simulation has become a valuable tool in acoustofluidics research. We present a numerical model that accurately mimics the boundary layer damping...