• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.431.2-431.2
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• 2014

The dielectric breakdown voltage (DBV) is a measure of an insulating fluids ability to withstand a high electric field stress without breaking down. Conventionally, the presence of water or particulate matter in a dielectric fluid comprises the liquid's breakdown strength. However, the addition of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in the base oil can increase the dielectric breakdown voltage of the fluid reversely, if the condition of the added particles in the fluid is in balance with that of keeping down the initiation and propagation of electrical streamers. In this study, we developed a mathematical model by a set of coupled, nonlinear equations using the COMSOL multiphysics finite element simulation suite and calculated the dielectrophoretic activity of magnetic nanoparticles suspended in the presence of electric field, which is the behavior responsible for enhancing the dielectric characteristics of transformer oil, in order to examine how the activity differ in a transformer oil-based magnetic fluid.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers C
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.136-143
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• 2001

A micro particle manipulator, which is devised for trapping particles at fixed positions by negative dielectrophoretic force (DEP force), has been fabricated and experimented. It is composed of square type electrode arrays fabricated by nickel electroplating with the height of 28 ${\mu}m$. To improve the quality of electroplated nickel electrodes, plating conditions have been optimized. Micro particles used in this study are polystyrene spheres and their to the specific position and trapped. The DEP force along the moving path of the particles has been estimated by the motion equation of a single particle. The displacement of a particle with an elapsed time was measured using a high-speed camera (1000 frames/sec). The velocity and acceleration of the particle were calculated from the measured data. The DEP force acting on the particle was estimated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.04a
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• pp.57-58
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• 2009

The dynamics of nano or micro sized-particles in liquid crystal (LC) medium under an external electric field is of theoretical and technological interest. A fullerene of 10 wt% was doped into the LC medium and its electric field induced motion was controlled by both in-plane and vertical electric fields. In the proposed device, pixel electrode I and pixel electrode II were designed consecutively on the bottom substrate and common electrode on the top of the substrate. When the electric field was applied, the fullerenes start to move in direction of applied electric field. The dark, grey and white states in the proposed device can be obtained by suitable combination of the polarity of applied electric field at pixel electrode I, pixel electrode II and common electrode. The dynamical motions of fullerene particles in LC medium suggest that fullerene can be designed for electronic-paper like displays.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2014

Microbes have been used extensively in various fields of researches and industries but has not been used widely for microfluidic biosensor applications because it is difficult to immobilize properly to a small space. Therefore, we developed a microbial immobilization method for microfluidic devices using single-walled nanotubes and dielectrophoretic force. Single-walled nanotubes and Escherichia coli were aligned between two cantilever electrodes by a positive dielectrophoretic force resulting in a film of single-walled nanotubes with attached Escherichia coli. The optimal condition of film formation without a cell lysis was investigated. Diameter of single-walled nanotubes and electric field (intensity and duration of application) had an effect on the cell viability. On the other hand, the cell concentration of the suspension did not affect the cell viability. Paraoxon was detected using single-walled nanotubes film with attached Escherichia coli that expressed organophosphorus hydrolase. This film which is suspended from the substrate showed faster response time than sensors that are not suspended from the substrate.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and information Science
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.66-71
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• 1997

The dielectrophoretic(DEP) force acting on a cell in an electric field is experimentally determined. A cell is accelerated by the DEP force in an electric field generated between micro planar electrodes. the position of the cell is measured and the velocity and acceleration of the cell are calculated based on the measured position data. The DE force is determined from the motion equation of a moving cell in suspension. The electrode structure is fabricated by micromachining technology and the height of electrodes is 1 $\mu\textrm{m}$. Radish cell and yeast are used in th experiments. In the case of radish cell, the DEP force increases as voltage or frequency(1MHz∼3MHz) increases. The voltage dependence can be explained that the DEP force increases when ▽│E│$^2$increases. The frequency dependence means that Re[x\ulcorner] of radish cell is maximized in a certain frequency. In the case of yeast, the DEP force increases only as voltage increases. The reason for the voltage dependence is the same with the case of radish. The DEP force increases only as voltage increases. The reason for the voltage dependence is the same with the case of radish. The DEP force on a yeast does not vary when the frequency varies from 1MHz to 3MHz. This result coincides with the fact that the value of calculated Re[x\ulcorner] is constant in the test frequency range.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1994.07a
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• pp.183-185
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• 1994

A new method for determination of electric parameter of cell membranes is proposed. Two circular electrodes is designed to have repulsive force. From the potential energy analysis, stable points where a cell is levitated between electrodes exist and move as frequency or voltage change. The levitated cell in the stable point fall freely when DEP force is zero. The DEP force is dependent on the frequency and the force is zero at the critical frequency. The critical frequency is determined by measuring the difference between the time taken at zero-applied voltage and the time taken at the frequency and the voltage. For example, the critical frequency and stable points of N.crassa slime cell is numerically evaluated. In the exeriment, polystyrene in water is levitated at the stable point. We show that the stable point move as the applied voltage is changed.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.189-196
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• 2013

Dielectrophoresis(DEP) is useful in manipulation and separation of micro-sized particles including biological samples such as bacteria, blood cells, and cancer cells in a micro-fluidic device. Especially, those separation and manipulation techniques using DEP in combination of micro fabrication technique have been researched more and more. Recently, it is revealed that a window structure of insulating layer in microfluidic DEP chip is key role in trap of micro-particles around the window structure. However, the trap phenomenon-driven by DEP force gradient did not fully understand and is still illusive. In this study, we characterize the trap mechanism and efficiency with different shapes of window in a microfluidic DEP chip. To do this characterization, we fabricated 4 different windows shapes such as rhombus, circle, squares, and hexagon inside a micro-fluidic chip, and performed micro-sized particles manipulation experiments as varying the frequency and voltage of AC signal. Moreover, the numerical simulation with the same parameters that were used in the experiment was also performed in order to compare the simulation results and the experimental results. Those comparison shows that both results are closely matched. This study may be helpful in design and development of microfluidic DEP chip for trapping micro-scaled biological particle.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.39 no.10
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• pp.805-815
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• 2015

The present study numerically investigated two-dimensional dielectrophoretic motions of a pair of particles suspended freely in a viscous fluid, interacting with a nearby nonconducting planar wall, under an external uniform electric field. The results show that the motions depend strongly on the set of two electric conductivity signs and the particles-wall separation gap. When both particles have the same sign, they revolve and finally align parallel to the electric field. In contrast, with different signs, they revolve in the opposite direction and finally align perpendicular to the field. Simultaneously, they are repelled to move farther away from the wall regardless of their conductivity set. With further separation from the wall, the particles-wall interaction effect diminishes and tthe particle-particle effect dominates.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.326-335
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• 2010

In this paper, the effect of electrical characteristics and electrode shape on the alignment and attachment of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) has been studied. The attraction and alignment of MWNTs between the gaps has been investigated by applying electric field which is called electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis. According to the frequency of electric field, positive or negative dielectrophoretic force can be determined. The concentration of MWNTs solution was $5\;{\mu}g/ml$, and a droplet of $1.0{\sim}1.5\;{\mu}l$ was dropped between two electrodes. Through the repeated experiments, the optimal electrical conditions for aligning and attaching MWNTs in the desired places were obtained. Since the frequency range of 100 kHz~10 MHz generated positive dielectrophoretic force, MWNTs were attracted and aligned between the gaps with this frequency range. For generating enough force to attract MWNTs, the appropriate voltage range was $0.3{\sim}1.3\;V_{rms}/{\mu}m$. Furthermore, the effect of electrode shape on the alignment of MWNTs was investigated. A single MWNT attachment was accomplished on the round shaped with 70% yield.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.425-433
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• 2015

In this paper, we have numerically investigated two-dimensional dielectrophoretic (DEP) motions of a single particle suspended freely in a viscous fluid, interacting with a nearby nonconducting planar wall, under an externally applied uniform direct-current electric field. Particularly, we solve the Maxwell equation with a large sharp jump in the electric conductivity at the particle-fluid interface and then integrate the Maxwell stress tensor to compute the DEP force on the particle. Results show that, under an electric field parallel to the wall, one particle is always repelled to move far away from the wall and the motion depends strongly on the particle-wall spacing and the particle conductivity. The motion strength vanishes when the particle is as conductive as the fluid and increases as the conductivity deviates further from that of the fluid.