Heat flux sensor using chiral liquid crystal droplets with high detection accuracy

Abstract

We succeeded in detecting heat flux distribution from the microfabricated metal film in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) by using chiral liquid crystal (Ch) droplets. 10 μm-sized Ch droplets disperse on MEMS devices spontaneously at Ch-isotropic coexisting phase temperature. When we apply electric current to MEMS device, Ch droplets near microfabricated metal film rotate unidirectionally. We estimated local heat flux in MEMS devices by evaluating the rotational behavior of Ch droplets and showed that Ch droplets possess high detection accuracy (0.1 mK/μm).