Granted Patent B2

US 12,730,300 · App. 18/429,069 · Granted Sep 8, 2026

Inventor: David Zhitomirsky (Woburn, MA)

Assignee: Nuclera, LTD.

G02B26/005H10D86/40H10D86/60

Abstract

Claims (16)

1 . A digital microfluidic device, comprising:

a substrate comprising a plurality of driving electrodes coupled to a set of thin-film-transistors, and a dielectric layer covering both the plurality of driving electrodes and the set of thin-film-transistors;

a controller operatively coupled to the set of thin-film-transistors and configured to provide:

a driving voltage to at least a portion of the plurality of driving electrodes;

a first spatially variable wettability layer covering the dielectric layer comprising a first portion having a first contact angle, and a second portion having a second contact angle;

a singular top electrode;

a top hydrophobic layer covering the singular top electrode, wherein the top hydrophobic layer includes a second spatially variable wettability layer comprising a first portion having a first contact angle, and a second portion having a second contact angle;

a spacer separating the variable wettability layer and the top hydrophobic layer creating a microfluidic region between the variable wettability and top hydrophobic layers, wherein the contact angles of the first and second variable wettability layers are the same along an axis perpendicular to the plane of the substrate comprising a plurality of driving electrodes.

2 . The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein a difference between the first contact angle and the second contact angle is at least 20° to at most 160°.

3 . The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein a difference between the first contact angle and the second contact angle is at least 50° to at most 140°.

4 . The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein the spatially variable wettability layer comprises at least a portion having a contact angle gradient.

5 . The microfluidic device of claim 4 , wherein a difference in contact angle between a first end of the contact angle gradient and a second end of the contact angle gradient is at least 20° to at most 160°.

6 . The microfluidic device of claim 4 , wherein a difference in contact angle between a first end of the contact angle gradient and a second end of the contact angle gradient is at least 50° to at most 140°.

7 . The microfluidic device of claim 4 , wherein the contact angle gradient is located at an inlet or reservoir entry point for introducing liquids from an external source into the digital microfluidic device.

8 . The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein the singular top electrode includes at least one light-transmissive region.

9 . The microfluidic device of claim 8 , wherein the light-transmissive region is at least 10 mm 2 in area.

Assignments (3)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (137)