Fabrication and Performance of an Integrated Electrostatic Dual-Curved Electrode Micropump With Integrated Checker-Board Microvalves

Graduate Student, University of Michigan
ABSTRACT: (Hanseup Kim) A gas micropump is essential to constructing a completely portable micro gas chromatography ( µGC) system that is being developed by the Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSystems (WIMS) at the University of Michigan. Especially the WIMS  µGC needs a pump that supports the two operation-modes of the  µGC: sampling and analysis. However, previous gas micropumps have shown only limited capabilities, such as 1) low flow-rate, 2) low pressure, 3) none or limited switching functionality between operation modes, and 4) large volume, thus failing to meet the requirements by the WIMS  µGC. These limitations can be overcome by developing an electrostatically-actuated multi-stage pump with a flexible-polymer membrane between dual chambers, 'pull-pull'-type dual electrodes with a curved shape, and electrostatic microvalves. However, such a deliberate structure also poses several challenges in microfabrication as well as the overall layout, and thus requires the development of new designs and fabrication techniques. In this talk, I would like to present the fabrication and performance results of the two-stage micropump as a basic unit of the future 18-stage micropump for the use in the WIMS  µGC system, addressing two main results on: 1) Realization of the new conceptual designs and layouts through the developments of new microfabrication technologies and 2) Performances such as flow-rate, pressure, and operation mode-switching by timely controlling microvalves.

BIO: (Hanseup Kim) Hanseup Kim (IEEE S '00) received the BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the Seoul National University, Korea in 1997, and the MS degree in Electrical Engineering from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2003, where he is currently working toward the PhD degree. From January-June 1999, he interned at LG Corporate Institute of Technology, Seoul, Korea on developing a MEMS fiber optic switch. Since 1999, he has been with the Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSystems (WIMS), University of Michigan, where he is currently working on developing high-performance polymer-based micropump for high-speed micro gas chromatograph applications as well as several other micro actuators based on low-temperature polymer technologies. He, with four other co-authors, was the recipient of the 2001 Best Paper and the 1st place award in the 38th Student Design Contest of Design Automation Conference (DAC 2001). Up to date, he authored and co-authored fifteen papers in refereed journals and conferences and served as a technical reviewer for the Journal of Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (JMEMS) and Sensors and Actuators.