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:
Nov. 11, 2008
Filed:
Oct. 18, 2004
David Corbin, Los Altos, CA (US);
Kenneth Goodson, Belmont, CA (US);
Thomas Kenny, San Carlos, CA (US);
Juan Santiago, Fremont, CA (US);
Shulin Zeng, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
David Corbin, Los Altos, CA (US);
Kenneth Goodson, Belmont, CA (US);
Thomas Kenny, San Carlos, CA (US);
Juan Santiago, Fremont, CA (US);
Shulin Zeng, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Cooligy Inc., Mountain View, CA (US);
Abstract
An electrokinetic pump for pumping a liquid includes a pumping body having a plurality of narrow, short and straight pore apertures for channeling the liquid through the body. A pair of electrodes for applying a voltage differential are formed on opposing surfaces of the pumping body at opposite ends of the pore apertures. The pumping body is formed on a support structure to maintain a mechanical integrity of the pumping body. The pump can be fabricated using conventional semiconductor processing steps. The pores are preferably formed using plasma etching. The structure is oxidized to insulate the structure and also narrow the pores. A support structure is formed by etching a substrate and removing an interface oxide layer. Electrodes are formed to apply a voltage potential across the pumping body. Another method of fabricating an electrokinetic pump includes providing etch stop alignment marks so that the etch step self-terminates.