A numerical investigation on AC electrowetting of a droplet

Abstract

We numerically analyze the AC electric field around a droplet placed on an insulator-covered electrode. The time-averaged effective electrical wetting tension, which is a function of AC frequency, is computed by integrating the Maxwell stress. The computed wetting tension is compared with the experimental result converted from the separately obtained contact-angle data. There is a good agreement between the two results at a low-frequency range and a qualitative agreement at a high-frequency range. Interestingly, the numerical results show that the electric-field strength decreases remarkably in the insulating layer near the TCL as the AC frequency increases. This decrease may account for the delay of the dielectric breakdown of an insulating layer in the AC case, which could be related to the contact-angle saturation phenomenon.