Fabrication and test of a micro electromagnetic actuator

This paper presents the fabrication, test results and the finite element analysis of an electromagnetic micro actuator with three diaphragms that can be driven individually. The actuator consists of parylene diaphragms, spiral copper coils and permanent magnets. Parylene is waterproof and its Young's modulus is small compared with metals, silicon and silicon compounds. So, it is adequate for the actuator diaphragm of a micropump. The static and dynamic characteristic tests are performed. The static deflections of the flat diaphragm and the corrugated one are 15 and 30 μm at 1 Hz, respectively, when the input current amplitude is 100 mA and the duty ratio is 50%.