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US 10,882,042 B2Granted
Digital microfluidic devices including dual substrates with thin-film transistors and capacitive sensing
AssigneeE Ink Corporation
InventorIan French
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An active matrix electrowetting on dielectric (AM-EWoD) device including dual substrates with thin-film transistors (TFT) and capacitive sensing. As depicted herein the bottom substrate includes a first plurality of electrodes to propel various droplets through a microfluidic region, while the top substrate includes a second plurality of electrodes that are configured to interrogate the droplets with capacitive sensing. In some embodiments, the top substrate has zones of high-resolution sensing and zones of low-resolution sensing.
Claims17
A digital microfluidic device, comprising:
- a first substrate comprising a first plurality of electrodes coupled to a first set of thin-film-transistors, and including a first dielectric layer covering both the first plurality of electrodes and the first set of thin-film-transistors;
- a second substrate comprising a second plurality of electrodes coupled to a second set of thin-film-transistors and a drive electrode, and including a second dielectric layer covering the second plurality of electrodes, the second set of thin-film-transistors, and the drive electrode;
- a spacer separating the first and second substrates and creating a microfluidic region between the first and second substrates;
- a first controller operatively coupled to the first set of thin-film-transistors and configured to provide a propulsion voltage between at least a portion of the first plurality of electrodes and the drive electrode;
- and
- a second controller operatively coupled to the second set of thin-film-transistors and configured to determine a capacitance between at least one of the second plurality of electrodes and the drive electrode.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.