Exciting multiple vibration modes in resonant microfluidic biosensors

Rahil Jaina, Annapurni Sriram*, Barry Lutz*

a Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Washington; * Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington

Introduction: A fluid-filled microfluidic channel has fluid inertia and viscous forces which oppose the flow of
the fluid. These forces represent inductive (L) and resistive (R) elements in the system respectively. When a
compliant element like a diaphragm, representing capacitance (C), is introduced, the system becomes capable of
resonance. In the fundamental mode of vibration, the entire diaphragm flexes up and down in response to the
harmonic pressure generated by an upstream piezoelectric pump. In this work we show that physically
suppressing the fundamental mode can result in a higher order vibration mode being selected. The observed
resonant frequency of the higher order vibration mode is comparable to that predicted by mathematical models of
harmonic vibrations in circular diaphragms [1]. Through phase measurements, we verified that at the observed
higher order mode the upward and downward motion of one half of the diaphragm reciprocates the motion of the
other half, closely resembling the λ11 vibration mode.

Methods: Devices are fabricated by stacking laser-cut acrylic sheets and Rohaglas film for membranes. A
piezoelectric disc attached to the membrane transduces the electrical sinusoidal actuation signal to harmonic
pressure differences in the channel. The resulting oscillating flow is measured by both imaging, and a custom
diaphragm-lens optical sensor. To operate the device in the fundamental mode, the bottom channel is filled with
4% glycerol solution. Inlets 1 and 2 are sealed, inlets 3 and 4 are unsealed, and the top channel is not filled. To
operate at the higher order mode, both channels are filled with 4% glycerol solution and all inlets are plugged. In
addition to imaging the entire diaphragm, phase data from individual quadrants of the diaphragm are
independently acquired.

Results: At the fundamental mode, the device resonates at a frequency of 280Hz. At the higher order mode, the
device resonates at a frequency of 440Hz which is 1.59 times the frequency of the fundamental mode. At the
higher order vibration mode, we found that quadrants 1 and 3 have a phase shift of 180 degrees in comparison to
quadrants 2 and 4 [FIGURE 1]. Geometrically, this establishes that one half of the circular membrane flexes
upward while the other half flexes downward in response to the actuation signal.

Conclusion: The higher order mode generated in this experiment corresponds to the λ11 vibration mode both
geometrically and mathematically [1]. The λ11 vibration mode is 1.59 times the resonant frequency of the
fundamental mode, which is replicated in our results. Both the λ11 vibration mode and the higher order mode
excited in this experiment share geometries in which the motion of half of the membrane opposes the motion of
the other half. Given the non-linear response of the device to the restriction of the fundamental mode, this
device has the potential to form the basis of a sensitive, qualitative, detection method of disease.

Figure 1. a. Top view of a microfluidic device set up for independent imaging of Quadrant 2. b. Side view schematic of the
device detailing inlets, channels, the shared diaphragm, and the sensing apparatus. c. Phase data from the full diaphragm
and individual quadrants were acquired separately. Phase vs Frequency plots show 180 degree phase difference between
Quadrants 1, 3 and Quadrant 2.

References
[1] Fundamentals of Acoustics, 4th Edition, by Lawrence E. Kinsler, Austin R. Frey, Alan B. Coppens, James V.
Sanders, pp. 560. ISBN 0-471-84789-5. Wiley-VCH , December 1999 11/1999; -1.