A fully integrated high-efficiency peristaltic 18-stage gas micropump with active microvalves

We report the design, fabrication, and test results of a fully integrated peristaltic 18-stage gas micropump consisting of 18 serially-connected pumping chambers and 19 microvalves. The peristaltic micropump achieves (1) high-pressure differentials by accumulating small pressure differentials that are evenly distributed across the individual stages using a low-compression multi-stage design, (2) high flow rate by operating pumping membranes at fluidic resonance and high frequency (>10 kHz), and (3) gas flow regulation by actively controlling the open/close timing of microvalves for either high flow or high pressure. The 18-stage micropump includes several new innovations, such as checkerboard microvalves, dual drive electrodes, and dual pumping chambers to achieve efficient electrostatic pumping. The fabricated 18-statge pump has produced an air flow rate of ~4.0 seem and maximum pressure differential of-17.5 kPa with a total power of only ~57 mW. It has a total package volume of 25.1 x 19.1 x 1 mm3 and each individual membrane is only 2x2 mm2.