PDMS based electromagnetic actuator membrane with embedded magnetic particles in polymer composite

• We designed and fabricated a compact and simple electromagnetic micro-actuator structure using PDMS with embedded magnetic particles (NdFeB).
• Magnetic polymer composite based membrane with 2 different structures (flat and embossed type) were chosen for the investigation.
• The dynamic response test showed that maximum deflection of 9.16 μm for an applied magnetic field of only 0.98 mT was obtained within 40 seconds.

A PDMS based flexible membrane made of polymer composite with embedded NdFeB magnetic particle has been developed using simple MEMS process. The magnetic polymer composite membrane was designed to simplify the physical design of electromagnetically driven actuator by combining the permanent magnet and the actuator membrane into an embedded system leading to a more compact and simple system. The magnetic polymer composite with NdFeB particles density up to 30vol% has been synthesized. Two actuator membrane designs including flat and embossed type have been fabricated and characterized to obtain the optimum actuator performance. The deformation capability of the membrane has also been tested and measured using laser displacement meter. The results show that the membrane with flat polymer composite design revealed the highest deflection of 9.16 μm at 6vol% particle density while the embossed composite membrane design achieved the highest deflection of 8.14 μm at 25vol% particle density for an applied magnetic field density of only 0.98 mT. The polymer composite flexible membrane actuator is designed as part of a compact micropump development for the fluidic injection system in a Lab-on-Chip.