Rectification of applied AC electric fields causes electro-osmotic flows.

Experiments have shown that when a miniature semiconductor diode floats in an aqueous solution and an alternating electric field is applied, (1) the diode rectifies the alternating potential induced between the electrodes, and (2) the resulting pulsating DC potential gives rise to an electro-osmotic flow in the vicinity of the diode and associated force that orients the diode along the electric-field direction, and propels the diode through the water. The propulsive force on the diode is along the electricfield direction and can be toward the cathode or the anode end, depending on the precise nature of the surface charge on the diode and the chemical composition of the solution. It has been proposed to exploit this phenomenon in developing microscale and nanoscale pumps and motors for diverse purposes. The proposal is not as radical as it might first seem: Electro-osmosis in applied DC electric fields has been used to pump liquids in microfluidic devices.

Electro-osmotic Speeds of two switching diodes of different sizes were measured as functions of the magnitude of the applied AC electric field.

In another family of potential applications, microscale and nanoscale pumps and mixers would be embedded at selected locations in walls and would be activated by application of global AC electric fields to effect active local control of flows. Diode-based microscale and nanoscale pumps and mixers would thus enable achievement of an unprecedented degree of complexity and performance in microfluidic applications in general, and more specifically, in manipulation (especially, separation) of biomolecules in laboratory-on-a-chip applications. In some cases, separations might be enhanced by use of combinations of AC-electric-field-actuated diode electro-osmotic pumping and DC-electric- field-actuated electrophoresis.