Elucidating the Mechanism Governing Particle Alignment and Movement by DEP

G. Zhang [1], Y. Zhao [1], J. Brcka [2], J. Faguet [2],
[1] Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
[2] Tokyo Electron U.S. Holdings, Inc., Austin, TX, USA
Published in 2015

We have simulated alignment and movement of multiple particles under Dielectrophoresis (DEP) using the Particle Tracing Module in COMSOL Multiphysics® software with particle-particle interaction taken into consideration. We are able to do efficient modeling for both 2D and 3D cases. With this work, we are able to shed important insights into the process of pearl chain formation, antenna-like structures with frequency dependent orientation, and cell capture. All our simulation results exhibit very good agreement with experimental observations, confirming the validity of our new approach to advance the DEP theory.