An Electrically-Driven, Large-Deflection, High-Force, Micro Piston Hydraulic Actuator Array for Large-Scale Microfluidic Systems

This paper describes a proof-of-concept all-electrical individually-addressable micro piston actuator array that produces high displacement and force by utilizing hydraulic amplification and electrostatic control. This new class of actuator arrays can remove a critical hurdle, pneumatic control ports to lab-on-chips, and achieve fully-integrated, large-scale, and all-electrical microfluidic systems. The fabricated actuator consists of a 3times3 array of 2times2 mm² membranes and produces maximum deflections of 35, 23, and 11 mum when hydraulicallydriven by piezoelectric actuation at 100, 80, 60 V, respectively. The corresponding hydraulic amplification ratios are 3.2, 3, and 2.5, respectively. The array functions up to a frequency of 2 Hz without failing, while allowing control over individual actuators by utilizing electrostatic latching at 100 V. The active device part measures as 8.4times8.4times0.65 mm³.