A low-cost, easy to operate, three-phase tilting agitator for microarrays, including large area microarrays, provides experimentally verified improvements in hybridization intensity and uniformity. Motion is coupled from a single motor to a sample holder via three suspension tethers. The microarrays may be immersed in a water bath during agitation to maintain a temperature for the hybridization reaction. The use of traditional cover slips for the microarrays minimizes the volume requirement for target sample solution.