Showing papers by "Mark W. Knight published in 2004"

Design, fabrication, and test of a peristaltic micropump

Abstract: The design, fabrication, and electrical characterization of a novel peristaltic thermopneumatic microfluidic (PTMF) pump for next-generation implantable medical treatment. To satisfy the demands of an implantable system, the PTMF pump design presented here includes biocompatibility, simple integration with microfluidics, bidirectionality, and particle tolerance. Test devices were fabricated with both silicon micromachining and soft lithography (polydimethylsiloxane micromolding). The effects of process parameters, specifically those related to silicon wet etch and metal deposition, on the performance of the microheaters in a peristaltic microfluidic pump. The thermal resistance of the microheaters is strongly dependent upon the relative thermal isolation, which impacts maximum pumping speed (from a few Hertz to kilo-Hertz). Thermal isolation is shown not to be an issue in the pump design given the spacing of the neighboring microheaters.