Hiroki Tanaka

We discussed an ultrasonic system for single-droplet ejection from a microplate, which is one of the basic and important procedures in the noncontact handling of droplets in air. In this system, a 1.5 MHz concave transducer located below the microplate is used for chasing the liquid surface through a pulse echo method, and also for the ejection of a 1 µL single droplet by the burst of focused ultrasound. We investigated the relationship between the droplet ejection characteristics, the distance from the transducer to the surface of liquid, the material property, and the excitation condition of the focused ultrasonic transducer. It was verified that the optimal position of the transducer was off the focal point of sound pressure by ±1 mm, because the sound intensity had to be controlled to eject a single droplet. Subsequently, we confirmed experimentally that the ejected droplet volume linearly depended on the surface tension of the liquid, and that the droplet volume and ejection velocity were determined by the Webber number, Reynolds number, and Ohnesolge number. In addition, by optimizing the duration of the burst ultrasound, the droplet volume and ejection velocity were controlled.

Power-based refractive index (RI) sensing is demonstrated by exploiting an ultrasonically pressed plastic optical fiber (POF). We can be easily and cost-efficiently fabricate this structure, within a short while ( ~1 s), without using external heat sources or chemical materials. We have only to simply press the horn connected to an ultrasonic transducer against part of the POF. The RI dependence of the transmitted power exhibits linear trends in the RI ranges from ~1.32 to ~1.36 (coefficient: −62 dB/RIU (RI unit)) and ~1.40 to ~1.44 (coefficient: −257 dB/RIU)). We also study the temperature dependence of the transmitted power. © (2017) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

We investigated the fundamental aspects of droplet dispensing, which is an important procedure in the noncontact ultrasonic manipulation of droplets in air. A holed reflector was used to dispense a droplet from a 27.4 kHz standing-wave acoustic field to a well. First, the relationship between the hole diameter of the reflector and the acoustic radiation force acting on a levitated droplet was clarified by calculating the acoustic impedance of the point just above the hole. When the hole diameter was half of (or equal to) the acoustic wavelength λ, the acoustic radiation force was ∼80% (or 50%) of that without a hole. The maximal diameters of droplets levitated above the holes through flat and half-cylindrical reflectors were then experimentally investigated. For instance, with the half-cylindrical reflector, the maximal diameter was 5.0 mm for a hole diameter of 6.0 mm, and droplets were levitatable up to a hole diameter of 12 mm (∼λ).