Mode bifurcation on the rythmic motion of a micro-droplet under stationary DC electric field

Abstract

Accompanied by the development of microfabrication techniques, such as MEMS and micro-TAS, there has been increasing interests on the methodology to generate a desired motion on a micro object in a solution environment. It is well know that the principle to create an electric motor in a macroscopic scale is not applicable to a micro system because of the enhancement of sticky interaction and higher viscosity in micrometer sized system. On the other hand, living organisms generate various motions under isothermal condition in a well-regulated manner. Despite the past intensive studies, the underlying mechanism of the biological molecular motors has not been unveiled yet. Under such development stage of science and technology at the present, we are performing the study toward real-world modeling on the emergence of regular motion in micro system. In this paper, we report a novel experimental system on the generation of regular movement, such as periodic go-back motion and circular motion, for a micro object under DC electric field.