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A PMMA valveless micropump using electromagnetic actuation

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Abstract

We have fabricated and characterized a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) valveless micropump. The pump consists of two diffuser elements and a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane with an integrated composite magnet made of NdFeB magnetic powder. A large-stroke membrane deflection (~200 μm) is obtained using external actuation by an electromagnet. We present a detailed analysis of the magnetic actuation force and the flow rate of the micropump. Water is pumped at flow rates of up to 400 µl/min and backpressures of up to 12 mbar. We study the frequency-dependent flow rate and determine a resonance frequency of 12 and 200 Hz for pumping of water and air, respectively. Our experiments show that the models for valveless micropumps of A. Olsson et al. (J Micromech Microeng 9:34, 1999) and L.S. Pan et al. (J Micromech Microeng 13:390, 2003) correctly predict the resonance frequency, although additional modeling of losses is necessary.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Swiss Commission for Technology and Innovation for financially supporting this project (Project CTI-Medtech 4960.1 MTS) and Dr D. Solignac and Dr A. Donzel for useful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microelectronics and Microsystems, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne EPFL, Switzerland

    C. Yamahata, C. Lotto, E. Al-Assaf & M. A. M. Gijs

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  1. C. Yamahata
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  2. C. Lotto
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  3. E. Al-Assaf
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  4. M. A. M. Gijs
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Correspondence to C. Yamahata.

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Yamahata, C., Lotto, C., Al-Assaf, E. et al. A PMMA valveless micropump using electromagnetic actuation. Microfluid Nanofluid 1, 197–207 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-004-0007-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-004-0007-6

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