Modeling the AC Electrokinetic Behavior of Semiconducting Spheres

We study theoretically the dielectrophoresis and electrorotation of a semiconducting microsphere immersed in an aqueous electrolyte. To this end, the particle polarizability is calculated from first principles for arbitrary thickness of the Debye layers in liquid and semiconductor. We show that the polarizability dispersion arises from the combination of two relaxation interfacial phenomena: charging of the electrical double layer and the Maxwell–Wagner relaxation. We also calculate the particle polarizability in the limit of thin electrical double layers, which greatly simplifies the analytical calculations. Finally, we show the model predictions for two relevant materials (ZnO and doped silicon) and discuss the limits of validity of the thin double layer approximation.