Field electrodes are used to conduct electrical current and generate electrical fields for controlling electroosmotic flows or to perform electrophoresis. These electrodes are typically made of platinum to resist corrosion.
Position
For most applications the
electrodes are positioned on the top surface of the glass chip. A major benefit
of field electrodes that are placed on top of the chip compared to electrodes
that are in between glass layers is the more economical processing costs.
However, integrating field electrodes between layers is also possible.
Specifications
Below the specifications
for field electrodes are given
| Materials | any metal; standard metal is platinum |
| Size | on the surface at least 5 µm near powderblasted entry holes > 20 µm |
| Distance between electrodes | minimum 10 µm on the surface (depending on the size of the entry holes) |