Publication Date

2016-07-30

Availability

Embargoed

Embargo Period

2018-07-30

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering (Engineering)

Date of Defense

2016-06-29

First Committee Member

Onur Tigli

Second Committee Member

Ali Ghahremaninezhad

Third Committee Member

Mei-Ling Shyu

Abstract

Developments in microfluidics have led a wide variety of research on MEMS-scaled biomedical applications. Many biomedical sensors, drug delivery systems, cell and protein syntheses devices, microfluidic switches have been successfully miniaturized. However, there is a need for controlled fluid transport for most of these biomedical devices. To address this need, micropump design has been a highly attractive research area for decades and various micropump design templates have been used for controlled fluid transfer. However, most of these developed micropumps are either: not small enough to combine with other microfluidic systems or require a large activation energy which does not make them suitable for biomedical applications. This thesis presents a fully biocompatible micropump system consisting of a new actuator membrane structure fabricated from a piezoelectric polymer: polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene (PVDF-TrFE). Its actuating performance was evaluated and compared with other common piezoelectric materials using finite element method (FEM) simulations. Full operation of actuator-membrane structures and diffuser elements which are the two components of the designed micropump were successfully proven separately and integration of these components was demonstrated.

Keywords

Micropump; PVDF-TrFE; Diffuser; Nozzle; Actuator; Nanoliter

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Available for download on Monday, July 30, 2018

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