Three-dimensional Acoustic Manipulation of Multiple Micro-objects

Precisely manipulating micro-objects is important for many applications, such as fabrication of functional materials, microelectromechanical system, tissue engineering and biophysics. Many techniques have been developed for those applications, which still have severe limitations. In this project, a novel methodology for three-dimensional acoustic dynamic manipulation is proposed. Such a technique will allow independent control of a large number of micro-objects simultaneously and form more complex spatial patterns, not limited to trapping and manipulating few small particles at the sound pressure nodes as previous researches. This is a potential scientific break-through for the controllability and applicability of parallel manipulation. The research results have a wide range of applications, such as manipulating multiple mobile microrobots in air or liquid, formation of patterns for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, and transporting droplets for lab-on-chip applications.