Mapping the electrorotational torque in planar microelectrodes

Abstract

The dielectric properties of a polarizable particle can be characterized by measuring the frequency dependence of the torque in a rotating electric field. Measurements performed using planar electrodes indicate a spatial variation in the torque across the dimensions of the array. In this paper the variation in rotation rate of elliptical latex beads was measured in 203 discrete positions within a 400 µm × 400 µm polynomial electrorotation electrode array. It is shown that torque variations across the electrode array can exceed 50% of the mean value at the centre. Data averaging and smoothing were performed to reveal trends that match theoretical predictions made using numerical models. The results indicate that the torque depends on variations in both the magnitude and phase of the electric field.