x.sight - software manual
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P a g e
3.4 Droplet quality control (DROPLET-QC)
First step in experimental setup is verification of dispensing performance. Meaning each
new cartridge needs to be calibrated to its loaded sample with regard to droplet generation.
A reproducible and robust droplet generation is required prior to experiment. Therefore the
droplet quality control
(DQC) is built in.
The respective window in the software is called [
DROPLET-QC
] and can be opened from
the main menu.
DQC working principle is stroboscopic droplet imaging. Stroboscopic imaging allows for
observing the generated droplets live and in flight. The window shows a separate camera
view.
Under [
Droplet Position
] you find three sliders that help to center the droplet in the cameras
field of view and bring it in focus.
•
[
Vertical/Delay
]
time delay between drop generation and photo acquisition
•
[
Horizontal
]
horizontal position of the droplet, controlled by X-axis
•
[
Focus
]
focal position of the droplet, controlled by Y-axis
The sliders under [
Stroke Settings
] define the actuation of the piezo. Here, stroke means
the swing of the piezo that performs the mechanical deformation of the chip membrane.
Physically the piezo extents, driven a plunger that deflects the membrane. The piezo
extension is defined by two parameters:
•
[
Length
]
the geometric length the piezo is extended
•
[
Speed
]
the velocity with which the extension is taking place
Both [
Length
] and [
Speed
] define the properties of the generated droplet. Length is mainly
influencing droplet volume. Speed is mainly influencing the droplet velocity.
