We report on the use of zipping actuation applied to dielectric elastomer actuators to microfabricate mm-sized pumps. The zipping actuators presented here use electrostatic attraction to deform an elastomeric membrane by pulling it into contact with a rigid counter electrode. We present several actuation schemes using either conventional DEA actuation, zipping, or a combination of both in order to realize microfluidic devices. A zipping design in which the electric field is applied across the elastomer membrane was explored theoretically and experimentally. Single zipping chambers and a micropump body made of a three chambers connected by an embedded channel were wet-etched into a silicon wafer and subsequently covered by a gold-implanted silicone membrane. We measured static deflections of up to 300 μm on chambers with square openings of 1.8 and 2.6 mm side, in very good agreement with our model.

Date Published: 3 April 2012
PDF: 16 pages
Proc. SPIE 8340, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2012, 83402Q (3 April 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.914831

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8340:
Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2012
Yoseph Bar-Cohen, Editor(s)