Microdispenser with continuous flow and selectable target volume for microfluidic high-pressure applications

• This paper presents a reusable microdispenser intended for continuous flow dispensing of variable and controlled volumes of liquid against high back-pressures. The microdispenser consists of two active valves and a dispenser chamber, all actuated by the volume change associated with the solid-to-liquid phase transition of paraffin wax. It is fabricated using stainless steel sheets, a flexible printed circuit board, and a polyimide membrane. All are covered with Parylene C for insulation and fusion bonding at assembly. A finite element method (FEM) model of the paraffin actuator is used to predict the resulting flow characteristics. The results show dispensing of well-defined volumes of 350 and 540 nL, with a good repeatability between dispensing sequences, as well as reproducibility between devices. In addition, the flow characteristics show no back-pressure dependence of the dispensed flow in the interval 0.5--2.0 MPa. The FEM model can be used to predict the flow characteristics qualitatively

Nyckelord

High pressure

liquid chromatography

MEMS

microdispenser

micropump

phase change material

Teknisk fysik med inriktning mot mikrosystemteknik

Engineering Science with specialization in Microsystems Technology

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