Electrostactically in-plane driven silicon micropump for modular configuration

Abstract

We present an in-plane reciprocating displacement micropump for liquids and gases which is actuated by a new class of electrostatic bending actuators capable of deflecting beyond the electrode gap distance. The so called “Nano Electrostatic Drive” (NED) actuator was introduced by us in 2015 for out-of-plane actuation. The device presented utilizes an in-plane actuation solution. Depending on the requirements of the targeted system, the micropump can be modularly designed to meet the specified differential pressures and flow rates by a serial arrangement of the actuators and parallel arranging pump-base units respectively.