Self-aligning gas/liquid micropump

In this paper a piezoelectrically driven silicon membrane pump with passive dynamic valves is described, It is designed to pump gases and liquids and to be tolerant to gas bubbles. Reducing the dead volume within the pump, and thus increasing the compression ratio, one achieves the gas pumping. The main advantages and novel features of the pump described in the paper are the self-aligning of the membrane unit to the valve unit and the possibility, of using screen-printed PZT as actuator. which enables mass production and thus low-cost micropumps. A liquid pump rate of 1500 mul min(-1) and a gas pump rate of 690 mul min(-1) were achieved.