Planar micro-check valves exploiting large polymer compliance

This paper presents three types of microfabricated planar check valves that exploit the large compliance of elastomeric polymers such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The micro-check valves consist of a thin compliant flap and a rigid stopper embedded in close proximity in a microchannel. The flap is perpendicular to the flow and lies near the stopper, forming a restricted fluid path inside the channel. The shape and size of the gap between the flap and stopper vary with the applied pressure, resulting in large flow resistance for forward flow and small resistance for reverse flow. The microfabricated valves have either two- or three-dimensional arrangement of valving elements. In particular, a interesting normally closed check valve was designed and fabricated using a special technique, in which the flap and stopper are, as fabricated, in intimate contact and form a zero-gap between them. Testing results show that the check valves can achieve a diodicity up to 105. The check valves can be fabricated using the standard replica molding technique from PDMS, and thus are highly amenable to integration with other PDMS-based microfluidic systems. The planar check valves can potentially used in lab-on-a-chip systems due to its high diodicity, planar configuration and use of inexpensive polymeric materials.

[1]  Arthur W. Leissa,et al.  Vibration of Plates , 2021, Solid Acoustic Waves and Vibration.

[2]  G. Stemme,et al.  A valveless diffuser/nozzle-based fluid pump , 1993 .

[3]  Ryutaro Maeda,et al.  A pneumatically-actuated three-way microvalve fabricated with polydimethylsiloxane using the membrane transfer technique , 2000 .

[4]  N. Nguyen,et al.  Fundamentals and Applications of Microfluidics , 2002 .

[5]  D. Beebe,et al.  Three-dimensional micro-channel fabrication in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer , 2000, Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems.

[6]  Werner Karl Schomburg,et al.  LIGA micropump for gases and liquids , 1994 .

[7]  W. Menz,et al.  Microfluidic components in LIGA technique , 1994 .

[8]  P. Bergveld,et al.  A plastic micropump constructed with conventional techniques and materials , 1999 .

[9]  Yu-Chong Tai,et al.  A Parylene micro check valve , 1999, Technical Digest. IEEE International MEMS 99 Conference. Twelfth IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (Cat. No.99CH36291).

[10]  Chih-Ming Ho,et al.  A MEMS thermopneumatic silicone membrane valve , 1997, Proceedings IEEE The Tenth Annual International Workshop on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. An Investigation of Micro Structures, Sensors, Actuators, Machines and Robots.

[11]  George M. Whitesides,et al.  Microfluidics Section: Design and Fabrication of Integrated Passive Valves and Pumps for Flexible Polymer 3-Dimensional Microfluidic Systems , 2002 .

[12]  G. Whitesides,et al.  Rapid Prototyping of Microfluidic Systems in Poly(dimethylsiloxane). , 1998, Analytical chemistry.

[13]  A.P. Pisano,et al.  Low-Leakage micro gate valves , 2003, TRANSDUCERS '03. 12th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems. Digest of Technical Papers (Cat. No.03TH8664).

[14]  Brandon Pillans,et al.  Polydimethylsiloxane-based pattern transfer process for the post-IC integration of MEMS onto CMOS chips , 2004 .

[15]  IN-SITU FABRICATED MICRO CHECK-VALVE UTILIZING THE SPRING FORCE OF A HYDROGEL , 2003 .

[16]  Polymer Microfluidic Valves, Membranes and Coatings , 2000 .

[17]  Masayoshi Esashi,et al.  Microflow devices and systems , 1994 .

[18]  K. Hosokawa,et al.  Low-cost technology for high-density microvalve arrays using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) , 2001, Technical Digest. MEMS 2001. 14th IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (Cat. No.01CH37090).

[19]  S. BRODETSKY,et al.  Theory of Plates and Shells , 1941, Nature.

[20]  G. Kovacs.  Micromachined Transducers Sourcebook , 1998 .

[21]  Nam-Trung Nguyen,et al.  Micro check valves for integration into polymeric microfluidic devices , 2004 .

[22]  S. Quake,et al.  Monolithic microfabricated valves and pumps by multilayer soft lithography. , 2000, Science.

[23]  Stephanus Büttgenbach,et al.  Fabrication and investigation of in-plane compliant SU8 structures for MEMS and their application to micro valves and micro grippers , 2002 .

[24]  Chang Liu,et al.  Re-configurable fluid circuits by PDMS elastomer micromachining , 1999, Technical Digest. IEEE International MEMS 99 Conference. Twelfth IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (Cat. No.99CH36291).

[25]  T. Shepodd,et al.  High-pressure microfluidic control in lab-on-a-chip devices using mobile polymer monoliths. , 2002, Analytical chemistry.