Progress on Research of MEMS-Based Micropump

With the growing importance of genomics, proteomics, and the discovery of new drugs, controlled transport of fluids in microscale becomes an important and crucial task. Micropump, as an important executive device of microfluidic systems, plays a very important role in micro flow control. They are divided into two types that are pumps with valves and those without them. In general, micropumps with valves are easy to be controlled, and their manufacture and application are ripe; however the size limitation of fabrication and the problem of short operating life have always been trouble. By comparison, the valveless micropump is novel in mechanism, simple in structure, and suitable for miniaturization, and therefore, it has become the focus of micropump research. This paper gives a comparative review of the two classes of micropumps and some application examples