Fully Integrated MEMS Micropump and Miniaturized Mass Flow Sensor as Basic Components for a Microdosing System.

A new micropump and mass flow sensor design, each smaller than 2 mm per side, can be integrated into a single microfluidic platform for applications such as microdosing. The pump uses electrostatic actuation and active valves, measures 1.86 mm × 1.86 mm × 0.3 mm, and pumps gas at up to 110 μL/min perpendicular to the chip surface. The flow sensor, 1.4 mm × 1.4 mm × 0.4 mm, uses hot-wire anemometry with wires inside a through-hole, enabling direct integration with the pump. First prototypes detect flows around 10 μL/min and measure up to 20 mL/min without dedicated electronics.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Despite major advances in the field of actuator technology for microsystems, miniaturized microfluidic actuation systems for mobile devices are still not common in the market. We present a micropump concept and an associated mass flow sensor design, which, in combination, have the potential to form the basis for an integrated microfluidic development platform for microfluidic systems in general and microdosing systems in particular. The micropump combines the use of active valves with an electrostatic drive principle for the pump membrane and the valves, respectively. With a size of only 1.86 mm × 1.86 mm × 0.3 mm, the first prototypes are capable of pumping gaseous media at flow rates of up to 110 μL/min. A specific feature of the presented micropump is that the pumping direction is perpendicular to the chip surface. The corresponding flow sensor combines the principle of hot-wire anemometry with a very small footprint of only 1.4 mm × 1.4 mm × 0.4 mm. The main innovation is that the hot wires are fixed inside a through-hole in the substrate of the microchip, so that the flow direction of the fluid to be measured is perpendicular to the chip surface, which enables direct integration with the presented micropump. Detection thresholds of around 10 μL/min and measuring ranges of up to 20 mL/min can be achieved with the first prototypes, without dedicated evaluation electronics.