Piezoelectric Pump Using a Cymbal Transducer

Abstract

This paper treats an innovative piezoelectric pump based on one of the piezoelectric actuators, the "cymbal". We describe the design, fabrication process, pumping principle and performance analysis of a miniaturized, ultrasonic, valve less pump. The cymbal actuator has been shown to have larger displacement and generative force than the bimorph actuators. The key is much higher underwater pressure induced by the cymbal in comparison with the bimorph. We used a double-layered cymbal with the advantage that it can behave both, as an "in-phase" extensional or an "out-of-phase" bending actuator. Our setup promises a hassle-free, internal system which offers considerably smaller size and weight, thereby facilitating the current trend of size reduction in the electronics industry. In addition, ease of fabrication make this device an attractive candidate for large scale production/industrial use. Taking inspiration from current and past trends we tried to balance the trade-off between efficient performance and device size. Therefore, a key feature of this pump is performance with respect to size ( volume less than 1.5 cm(3)). The pump was able to generate a maximum back pressure greater than 5.3 kPa and an approximate maximum flow rate of 10 ml/min. (C) 2010 The Japan Society of Applied Physics