The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 07, 2006
Filed:
May. 13, 2003
Khalil Najafi, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Hanseup S. Kim, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Luis P. Bernal, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Aaron A. Astle, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Peter D. Washabaugh, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Khalil Najafi, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Hanseup S. Kim, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Luis P. Bernal, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Aaron A. Astle, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Peter D. Washabaugh, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
The Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Abstract
A MEMS-fabricated microvacuum pump assembly is provided. The pump assembly is designed to operate in air and can be easily integrated into MEMS-fabricated microfluidic systems. The pump assembly includes a series of pumping cavities with electrostatically-actuated membranes interconnected by electrostatically-actuated microvalves. A large deflection electrostatic actuator has a curved fixed drive electrode and a flat movable polymer electrode. The curved electrodes are fabricated by buckling the electrode out-of-plane using compressive stress, and the large deflection parallel-plane electrostatic actuators are formed by using the curved electrode. The curved electrode allows the movable electrode to travel over larger distances than is possible using a flat electrode, with lower voltage. The movable electrode is a flat parylene membrane that is placed on top of the curved electrode using a wafer-level transfer and parylene bonding process. Using this approach, large out-of-plane deflection of the parylene membrane is achieved using a voltage smaller than is achievable using flat parallel-plate electrodes.