Precise manipulation of heterogeneous droplets on an open droplet microfluidic platform could have numerous practical advantages in a broad range of applications, from proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and microreactors, to medical diagnostic platforms capable of assaying complex biological analytes. Toward the aim of developing electrically controllable micropost arrays for use in open droplet manipulation, custom-designed titanium dioxide (TiO2)- loaded poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) micropost arrays were developed in this work and indirectly mechanically actuated by applying an electric field. Initial experiments explored the bulk properties of TiO2-loaded PDMS films, with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirming a uniform TiO2 particle distribution in the PDMS, and tensile testing of bulk films showing an inverse relationship between TiO2 % (w/w) and Young’s Modulus with the Young’s Moduli quantified as 4.22 ± 0.51 MPa for unloaded PDMS, 2.27 ± 0.18 MPa for 10 % (w/w) TiO2, and 1.39 ± 0.20 MPa for 20 % (w/w) TiO2. Following bulk material evaluation, soft lithography methods were developed to fabricate TiO2- loaded PDMS micropost arrays. Mathematical predictions were applied to design microposts of varying shape, length, and gap spacing to yield super-hydrophobic surfaces actuatable by an electric field. Visual inspection and optical microscopy of the resulting arrays confirmed a non- collapsed micropost geometry. Overall, round microposts that were 100, 200, and 300 μm in length, 15 μm in diameter, and spaced 50 μm apart were produced largely free of defects, and used in contact angle measurements and micropost deflection experiments. Droplet contact angles measured on the arrays remained above 120° indicating the arrays successfully provided super- hydrophobic surfaces. Individual microposts deflected most notably above an electric field strength of 520 kV/m (12.5 kV nominal voltage). The ability to mechanically deflect customized microposts using an electric field demonstrated by this work is promising for translating this technology to precise droplet manipulation applications. Indirect actuation of droplets could enable the manipulation of liquids with varying electrical properties, which is a limitation of current micropumping technologies. Once optimized, electrically actuated micropost arrays could significantly contribute to the micro- handling of heterogeneous, highly ionic, and/or deionized fluids. / Thesis (Master, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2013-03-03 17:25:49.785

There is a huge demand for low-cost and compact laser devices in particular for point-of-care diagnostic, sensing, or optical communication. Organic solid-state lasers (OSLs) have a great potential to fill that gap due to their specific properties such as high optical gain, low lasing threshold, and spectral tunability. To miniaturize OSLs for micro-optical circuits two aspects are required: The spectrum of the laser should be easily tunable, and the pumping energy should be provided in a simple and compact method, in the best case electrically. In this work, we developed a simple, compact, easy to manufacture, and electrically tunable laser resonator using electroactive polymers. The cavity is formed between a highly reflecting distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) and a highly reflecting silver layer sandwiching a soft elastomer layer. A transparent electrode made by indium tin oxide is placed on the glass substrate below the DBR. If an external voltage between the transparent bottom electrode and the metal layer is applied, the elastomer layer is compressed by the electrostatic pressure, which leads to a blue shift of the optical modes of the microcavity. If an active material with a broad emission spectrum, such as organic molecules, is included inside the cavity layer, it enables the development of an electrically tunable OSL. Hence, we demonstrate a cost-effective approach towards an electrically tunable organic laser source particularly suitable for easily processable lab-on-chip devices. In the second part, a novel organic light emitting diode (OLED) architecture is realized enabling high current densities with low optical losses in the prospect of the realization of an electrically driven OSL. For this purpose, an additional highly conductive lateral transport layer (LTL) is introduced to achieve expansion of the charge recombination to the electrode-free area. Simulations by equivalent circuit approach allow for an analysis of the lateral distribution of the vertical current density to predict the lateral current density distribution in the high excitation regime (current densities ≈ 1 kA/cm² ). Moreover, the Joule heating of the device is reduced by restructuring the OLED layer stack. Thus, high current densities close to the predicted lasing threshold of 1 kA/cm² could be achieved. The results of the thesis presenting a significant step towards the development of an electrical pumped OSL.:1 Introduction 2 Theoretical Background 2.1 Optical Cavities 2.1.1 Fabry-Perot Resonator 2.1.2 Transfer Matrix Algorithm 2.1.3 Distributed Bragg Reflector 2.1.4 Optical Microcavities 2.1.5 Tunable Optical Cavities 2.2 Organic Semiconductors 2.2.1 Properties 2.2.2 Electronic Structure 2.2.3 Absorption and Emission Spectra 2.2.4 Electrical Current 2.2.5 Doping 2.3 Organic Light Emitting Diodes 2.3.1 Basic OLED 2.3.2 Pin-OLED 2.3.3 OLEDs at High Excitation 2.4 Organic Lasers 2.4.1 Fundamentals of a Laser 2.4.2 Organic Molecules as Active Medium 2.4.3 Electrical Pumping of Organic Lasers 2.5 Dielectric Elastomer Actuators 2.5.1 Principle of Operation 2.5.2 Silicone-Based Materials 2.5.3 Compliant Electrodes 3 Experimental Methods 3.1 Sample Fabrication 3.1.1 Dielectric Elastomer Actuators 3.1.2 Organic Light Emitting Diodes 3.2 Characterization Techniques 3.2.1 Optical Characterization 3.2.2 Electrical Characterization 4 Tunable Optical Cavities with Dielectric Elastomer Actuators 4.1 Design of the Tunable Optical Microcavity 4.1.1 Tunable Cavity with Thin Metal Electrode . 4.1.2 Compliant Metal Electrodes on Dielectric Elastomer Films 4.1.3 Actuator Performance of Thick Metal Electrode 4.1.4 Electro-mechanical Characteristic 4.2 Tunable Emission of Optical Elastomer Cavities 4.2.1 Incorporation of Organic Laser Dyes in the Elastomer 4.2.2 Tunable Photoluminescence Spectra 4.2.3 Lasing in Elastomer Cavities 5 Novel Architecture for OLEDs at High Excitation 5.1 OLEDs at High Excitations Using Emission from Metal-free Area 5.1.1 Simulation of the Lateral Distribution of the Vertical Current Density 5.1.2 Investigation of the Lateral Emission 5.1.3 Organic Zener Junction 5.1.4 Simulation of High Excitation Behavior 5.2 Reduction of Self-heating for OLEDs at High Excitation 5.2.1 Crossbar-OLED at High Current Densities 5.2.2 Change in Layer Structure 5.3 Fully Transparent Metal-free OLEDs 5.3.1 Highly doped C 60 as a Transparent Electrode 5.3.2 Investigation of the External Quantum Efficiency 6 Conclusion and Outlook / Insbesondere durch die wachsende Nachfrage in Point-of-Care-Diagnostik, Sensorik oder optischer Kommunikationstechnologie wird eine große Anzahl von günstigen und kompakten Laserbauteilen benötigt. Aufgrund ihrer spezifischen Eigenschaften, wie hoher optische Verstärkung, niedriger Laserschwelle und spektrale Durchstimmbarkeit, sind organische Festkörperlaser geeignete Kandidaten, um diese Lücke zu schließen. Für die Anwendung als mikrooptische Systeme werden zwei wesentliche Komponenten benötigt: Die spektrale Durchstimmbarkeit sowie das Pumpen des Lasers sollten mit einem einfachen und kompakten Verfahren realisiert werden, im besten Fall durch Anlegen einer elektrischen Spannung. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde ein kompakter, elektrisch durchstimmbarer Laserresonator entwickelt, welcher mittels eines dielektrischen Elastomeraktuators in wenigen Prozessschritten realisiert werden kann. Der Resonator besteht aus zwei hochreflektierenden Spiegeln, einem dielektrischen Bragg-Spiegels und einem Metallspiegel, die eine Resonatorschicht aus einem weichen, verformbaren Elastomer umschließen. Für die elektrische Aktuation wird eine Spannung zwischen einer transparenten Bodenelektrode aus Indiumzinnoxid unterhalb des Bragg-Spiegel und der Metallschicht angelegt. Durch die elektrostatische Anziehung beider Elektroden wird die Elastomerschicht zusammengedrückt, wodurch die optischen Moden des Resonators eine Blauverschiebung der Wellenlänge erfahren. Durch die Integration einens Fluoreszenzfarbstoffes mit einem breiten Emissionsspektrum innerhalb der Resonatorschicht, wird die Umsetzung eines elektrisch durchstimmbaren, organischen Festkörperlasers ermöglicht. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit wird ein neuartiges Design für organische Leuchtdioden (OLED) vorgestellt, um diese bei hohen Stromdichten zu betreiben und gleichzeitig die optischen Verluste, die beim Einbau in einen optischen Mikroresonator auftreten, zu minimieren. Hierfür wird eine zusätzliche hoch leitfähige, organische Schicht, die laterale Transportschicht, in den Schichtaufbau der OLED integriert. Aufgrund des verstärkten lateralen Ladungsträgertransports wird die Rekombinationszone bis außerhalb der Elektroden bedeckten Fläche ausgeweitet. Mithilfe einer Simulation, welche die organischen Schichten mittels eines Ersatzschaltbildes beschreibt, war es möglich, die laterale Verteilung der vertikalen Stromdichte zu bestimmen und damit Vorhersagen über die Stromdichtenverteilung bei hohen Anregungen (≈ 1 kA/cm² ) zu treffen. Darüber hinaus ermöglicht eine geänderte Schichtreihenfolge der OLED, die Joulesche Erwärmung des Bauteils zu reduzieren. Dadurch ist es möglich, hohe Stromdichten überhalb der vorherge sagten Laserschwelle von 1 kA/cm² zu erreichen. Diese Ergebnisse stellen eine wichtige Voraussetzung für die Entwicklung eines elektrisch gepumpten, organischen Festkörperlasers dar.:1 Introduction 2 Theoretical Background 2.1 Optical Cavities 2.1.1 Fabry-Perot Resonator 2.1.2 Transfer Matrix Algorithm 2.1.3 Distributed Bragg Reflector 2.1.4 Optical Microcavities 2.1.5 Tunable Optical Cavities 2.2 Organic Semiconductors 2.2.1 Properties 2.2.2 Electronic Structure 2.2.3 Absorption and Emission Spectra 2.2.4 Electrical Current 2.2.5 Doping 2.3 Organic Light Emitting Diodes 2.3.1 Basic OLED 2.3.2 Pin-OLED 2.3.3 OLEDs at High Excitation 2.4 Organic Lasers 2.4.1 Fundamentals of a Laser 2.4.2 Organic Molecules as Active Medium 2.4.3 Electrical Pumping of Organic Lasers 2.5 Dielectric Elastomer Actuators 2.5.1 Principle of Operation 2.5.2 Silicone-Based Materials 2.5.3 Compliant Electrodes 3 Experimental Methods 3.1 Sample Fabrication 3.1.1 Dielectric Elastomer Actuators 3.1.2 Organic Light Emitting Diodes 3.2 Characterization Techniques 3.2.1 Optical Characterization 3.2.2 Electrical Characterization 4 Tunable Optical Cavities with Dielectric Elastomer Actuators 4.1 Design of the Tunable Optical Microcavity 4.1.1 Tunable Cavity with Thin Metal Electrode . 4.1.2 Compliant Metal Electrodes on Dielectric Elastomer Films 4.1.3 Actuator Performance of Thick Metal Electrode 4.1.4 Electro-mechanical Characteristic 4.2 Tunable Emission of Optical Elastomer Cavities 4.2.1 Incorporation of Organic Laser Dyes in the Elastomer 4.2.2 Tunable Photoluminescence Spectra 4.2.3 Lasing in Elastomer Cavities 5 Novel Architecture for OLEDs at High Excitation 5.1 OLEDs at High Excitations Using Emission from Metal-free Area 5.1.1 Simulation of the Lateral Distribution of the Vertical Current Density 5.1.2 Investigation of the Lateral Emission 5.1.3 Organic Zener Junction 5.1.4 Simulation of High Excitation Behavior 5.2 Reduction of Self-heating for OLEDs at High Excitation 5.2.1 Crossbar-OLED at High Current Densities 5.2.2 Change in Layer Structure 5.3 Fully Transparent Metal-free OLEDs 5.3.1 Highly doped C 60 as a Transparent Electrode 5.3.2 Investigation of the External Quantum Efficiency 6 Conclusion and Outlook

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have been used for artificial muscles for years. Recently the DEA-based deformable surfaces have demonstrated controllable microscale roughness, ease of operation, fast response, and possibilities for programmable control. DEA muscles used in bioinspired robotic arms for large deformation and strong force also become desirable for their efficiency, low manufacturing cost, high force-to-weight ratio, and noiseless operation. The DEA-based responsive surfaces in microscale roughness control, however, exhibit limited durability due to irreversible dielectric breakdown. Lowering device voltage to avoid this issue is hindered by an inadequate understanding of the electrically-induced wrinkling deformation as a function of the deformable dielectric film thickness. Also, the programmable control and geometric analysis of the structured surface deformation have not yet been fully explored. Current methods to generate anisotropic wrinkles rely on mechanical pre-loading such as stretching or bending, which complicates the fabrication and operation of the devices. With a fixed mechanical pre-loading, the device can only switch between the flat state and the preset wrinkling state. In this thesis, we overcome these shortcomings by demonstrating a simple method for fabricating fault-tolerant electro-responsive surfaces and for controlling surface wrinkling patterns. The DEA-based system can produce different reversible surface topographies (craters, irregular wrinkles, structured wrinkles) upon the geometrical design of electrode and application of voltage. It remains functional due to its ability to self-insulate breakdown faults even after multiple high voltage breakdowns, and the induced breakdown punctures can be used for amplification of local electric fields for wrinkle formation at lower applied voltages. We enhance fundamental understanding of the system by using different analytical models combined with numerical simulation to discuss the mechanism and critical conditions for wrinkle formation, and compare it with the experimental results from surface topography, critical field to induce wrinkles in films of different thickness, and wrinkling patterns quantitatively analysed by different disorder metrics. Based on the results, we demonstrate its wide applicability in adjustable transparency films, dynamic light-grating filter, molding for static surface patterns, and multi-stable mirror-diffusor-diffraction grating device. For DEAs used for macroscopic-scale deformation in robotic arms, the main issue that undermines the performance of DEA muscles is the trade-off between strong force and large displacement, which limits the durability and range of potential robotic and automation applications of DEA-driven devices. In this thesis, this challenge is tackled by using DEAs in loudspeaker configuration for independent scaling-up of force and displacement, developing a theoretical prediction to optimise the operation of such DEAs in bioinspired antagonistic system to maximise speed and power of the robotic arm, and designing a clutch-gear-shaft mechanical system collaborating with the muscles to decouple the displacement and output force. Therefore, the trade-off between force and displacement in traditional DEA muscles can be resolved. The mechanical system can also convert the short linear spurt to an unlimited rotary motion. Combining these advantages, continuous movement with high output force can be accomplished.