Search

We report on the dielectric permittivities in 1 kHz to 4 MHz frequency region of the ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) material CB500 having a TGBA phase. Molecular and collective relaxation processes have been studied in bulk and in confined environment. In the bulk sample, a Goldstone mode (GM) and a molecular mode were observed in the SmC* phase and the softmode (SM) was observed in the TGBA phase. The Goldstone mode was also present in the FLC sample confined in 0.2 μm Anopore membranes. The relaxation frequency of this mode was shifted to the higher-frequency region in comparison to that observed in the bulk sample. In the Anopore confined FLC sample, another relaxation process (AP) was observed, which possibly arises due to some collective movement of the molecules attached to the cavity walls. The relaxation frequency of this process is almost independent of temperature and this process is only observed in the SmC* phase. Copyright World Scientific 2004

In this research paper, in total 212 individual leakage-free Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) microfluidic devices are fabricated by maskless lithography, hot embossing lithography and direct bonding technique. The effect of channel aspect ratio on dyed water flow is investigated using these microfluidic devices. Experimental studies show that the dyed water flow is faster on the surface of higher wettability. The effect of capillary pressure on dyed water flow is studied in the fabricated PMMA microfluidic devices. According to the experimental observations, the centrifugal force has prominent effect on the dyed water flow. Also, the effect of bend angle is investigated on the surface-driven capillary flow of water. The polystyrene microparticles have been separated in the microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems using the investigated flow features. A 100% separation efficiency is achieved in these lab-on-a-chip systems. These microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems can be used to separate blood cells from human whole blood for further clinical tests. These experimental studies are important in bioengineering applications. The effect of bend angle as channel geometry to control the surface-driven capillary flow is investigated as a novel approach to control the separation time in microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems. Also, the effect of surface wettability as surface property to control the surface-driven capillary flow is investigated as a novel approach to control the separation time in microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems.

A theoretical relation has been developed from the Landau free energy expansion between SmC–SmA phase transition temperature of chiral smectic compound and that of its nonchiral analogue. The bilinear and biquadratic coupling constant and the quadrupolar order parameter have been determined from the extended microscopic model in the chiral smectic-C (Sm-C*) phase of four ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) materials and results have been discussed.

Proper bonding technique is investigated to achieve leakage-free surface-driven capillary flow in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) microfluidic devices. SU-8-based silicon stamp is fabricated by maskless lithography. This stamp is used to produce PMMA microchannel structure by hot embossing lithography. A direct bonding technique is mainly employed for leakage-free sealing inside PMMA microfluidic devices. The effect of surface wettability on surface-driven capillary flow is also investigated in PMMA microfluidic devices. The separation of polystyrene microparticles in PMMA laboratory-on-a-chip systems is investigated with the reduction of separation time by air dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma processing of channel surfaces. This study is useful to fabricate the microfluidic laboratory-on-a-chip systems and to understand the surface-driven capillary flow.