This paper presents a valveless microfluidic chip driven by dielectric elastomers (DEs). First, the planar DE actuator is designed and the diaphragm actuating performances were characterized. Then the micro chip, containing a pump chamber and a pair of nozzle/diffuser, is fabricated on SU-8 under exposure to UV-light with a mask. The diaphragm and the SU-8 is sealed and finally covered by a PMMA. The pumping and flow rate is tested and measured under high AC supply, and a maxim flow rate of 21.2μl is achieved under 3500V, 8Hz sine wave.

Date Published: 20 October 2009
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 7493, Second International Conference on Smart Materials and Nanotechnology in Engineering, 74935S (20 October 2009); doi: 10.1117/12.838431

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7493:
Second International Conference on Smart Materials and Nanotechnology in Engineering
Jinsong Leng; Anand K. Asundi; Wolfgang Ecke, Editor(s)