About
We first report a micropump actuated by continuous electrowetting (CEW).
We have used the surface-tension-induced motion of a mercury drop in the
microchannel filled with an electrolyte as actuation energy. We have fabricated
the CEW actuator, silicone rubber pumping membranes and copper flap check
valves, and have demonstrated actual liquid pumping up to 63ml/min at the
applied voltage of 2.3Vpp. The maximum pump pressure is about 600Pa at the
applied voltage of 2.3Vpp with operation frequency of 10Hz.
Figure 1. Schematic view of proposed micropump and the principle of pump actuation
Figure 2. Photographs of mercury-placed actuator part and the assembled micropump
Movie
Related Publications
- Kwang-Seok Yun, Il-Joo Cho, Jong-Uk Bu, Chang-Jin Kim, and Euisik Yoon, "A surface-tension driven micropump for low-voltage and low-power operations," Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, Vol. 11, Issue 5, Oct 2002, pp. 454-461.
- Kwang-Seok Yun, Il-Joo Cho, Jong-Uk Bu, Geun-Ho Kim, Young-Sam Jeon, Chang-Jin (CJ) Kim, and Euisik Yoon, "A Micropump Driven by Continuous Electrowetting Actuation for Low Voltage and Low Power Operations", IEEE International MEMS 2001 Conference, Interlaken, Switzerland, pp.487-490, Jan., 2001.