Precise rate of flow piezoelectric mini-pump with built-in self test

This paper presents a built-in self test pump actuated by piezoelectric bimorphs for fluidic systems. The sensor fabricated by MEMS ensures the flow to be 0.1 mul/s. The pump is characterized by thin structure, precise rate of flow, low power consumption, etc. A prototype of the pump, with a size of 20 mm, 20 mm and 7 mm, is fabricated by precise manufacturing. Simulations and experiments show that the piezoelectric pump has high efficiency and good performance. With a voltage of 75 V, the flow rate is 0.5 mul every three electronic pulses and its power consumption is only 2.6 mW. A robust passive high pressure check valve is developed for piezoelectric actuated pumps. A novel metal check valve flap is used to increase the valve´s structural stiffness with pressures up to 20.4 kPa. A series-wound multi-pump chamber structure prevents valve-flap from failure under extreme high pressure.