Dielectro/Electro-Phoretic Assembling of Nanoparticles on Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate

We present a repeatable and accurate method to pattern fluorescent micro and nano particles into a flexible elastomeric membrane. This method make use of the intense electric field generated by a Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate (PPLN) in order to direct the assembly of the particles using electrophoretic (EP) and dielectrophoretic (DEP) forces. We also show that is possible to use the same technique to pattern NPs on the surface of a PDMS membrane. In order to better understand the process that leads to the localization of the NPs we have studied by means of experimental and theoretical analysis the force field generated on the surface of the PPLN. This study has been conducted by direct acquisition of the motion of the NPs under a fluorescent microscope and analysed using an image analysis code (MATLAB) in order to trace each particle during the motion. These data have been compared to finite analysis simulation performed using a commercial FEM software (COMSOL).