A planar micropump utilizing thermopneumatic actuation and in-plane flap valves

The micropump presented in this paper demonstrates advancements made both in performance and fabrication over most existing mechanical micropumps. The pump is planar and fabricated using a wafer-level, four-mask process, making it attractive for integration into micro total-analysis systems. Its design utilizes thermopneumatic actuation and two in-plane flap valves with fluidic-resistance ratios greater than 1300 to reach maximum pressures of 16 kPa and maximum flow rates of 9 μL/min at an average power consumption of 180 mW (20% duty cycle, 10 Hz). Pressures as high as 20.2 kPa were achieved at an average power consumption of 200 mW (20% duty cycle, 5 Hz). This performance is better than most micropumps utilizing in-plane or out-of-plane valves.