Improved Piezoelectrically Actuated Microvalve

Efforts are underway to implement an improved design of the device described in “Normally Closed, Piezoelectrically Actuated Microvalve” (NPO-20782), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 25, No. 1 (January 2001), page 39. To recapitulate: This valve is being developed as a prototype of valves in microfluidic systems and other microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The version of the valve reported in the cited previous article (see Figure 1) included a base (which contained a seat, an inlet, and an outlet), a diaphragm, and an actuator. With the exception of the actuator, the parts were micromachined from silicon. The actuator consisted of a stack of piezoelectric disks in a rigid housing. To make the diaphragm apply a large sealing force on the inlet and outlet, the piezoelectric stack was compressed into a slightly contracted condition during assembly of the valve. Application of a voltage across the stack caused the stack to contract into an even more compressed condition, lifting the diaphragm away from the seat, thereby creating a narrow channel between the inlet and outlet.