Electrostatically driven gas valve with high conductance

Author

Shikida, Mitsuhiro ; Sato, Kazuo ; Tanaka, Shinji ; Kawamura, Yoshio ; Fujisaki, Yoshihisa

Author_Institution

Mech. Eng. Res. Lab., Hitachi Ltd., Ibaraki, Japan

Volume

3

Issue

2

fYear

1994

fDate

6/1/1994 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

76

Lastpage

80

Abstract

The characteristics of a gas valve driven by electrostatic force are investigated. The gas valve consists of a pair of planar electrodes with a conductive film between them. Three valve ports pass through the electrode plates. The film is elastically bent in an S-shape in the middle and the S-bend moves back and forth as voltage is alternately applied between the film and each electrode. This valve has a high conductance achieved by large vertical film displacement. The valve is suitable for rarefied gas control systems, such as the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) apparatus, which requires a gas flow rate on the order of 1 sccm under a low pressure of less than 100 Pa. Experimental models of the gas valve are constructed to investigate the valve´s operation. The maximum pressure difference the valve can handle depends on the applied voltage and the size of the port orifice. A valve with 2.0 mm inlet and outlet ports can work under the operating condition of the MBE apparatus

Keywords

electric actuators; electrostatic devices; micromechanical devices; molecular beam epitaxial growth; valves; conductive film; electrostatic force; electrostatically driven gas valve; molecular beam epitaxy apparatus; planar electrodes; port orifice; pressure difference; rarefied gas control systems; vertical film displacement; Conductive films; Control system synthesis; Electrodes; Electrostatics; Fluid flow; Molecular beam epitaxial growth; Pressure control; Semiconductor process modeling; Valves; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1057-7157

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/84.294324

Filename

294324