Local Surface Modification at the Microscale Enabled by Liquid Dielectrophoresis Technology

This paper reports a new protocol on-chip for functionalization purpose enabled by liquid dielectrophoresis (LDEP) technique at the microscale, and its adaptation to the nanoscale for the MEMS/NEMS applications. In a previous study, circular spots (diameter: 25-100 μm), made of polymer, have been accurately positioned onto a surface using LDEP. In this study, doped polysilicon LDEP structures have been fabricated with submicronic electrodes widths, to displace weak amount of liquids and create femtoliter sessile droplets. The final goal consists in dispensing fL droplets localized at the submicronic electrodes tip, and then implementing such structures to address MEMS/NEMS cantilevers local functionalization.