A digital microfluidic control system with precise control of electrostatic force and impedance-based velocity measurement

We present DropBot, a modular and extensible Digital Microfluidic (DMF) control instrument, and demonstrate compensation for parasitic capacitance and amplifier-loading effects, both critical to precise control of actuation voltage. We highlight quantitative metrics that are dynamically calculated by the system, including impedance, instantaneous drop velocity, and electrostatic driving force. We anticipate that these features will provide insight into the causes of device failure and lead to new strategies for improving experimental reliability and DMF device robustness.