TY - GEN A1 - Ruffert, Christine A1 - Jongmanns, Marcel A1 - Kaiser, Bert A1 - Langa, Sergiu T1 - Design and characterization of a silicon MEMS microvalve for proportional flow control based on electrostatic bending actuators T2 - Microsystem Technologies N2 - We designed a MEMS microvalve based on the nanoscopic electrostatic drive (NED) technology (Nat Commun 6:10078, 2015). NED actuators, electrostatically controlled bending beams, are implemented in a clamped-clamped configuration. A normally open plunger valve was designed and characterized. The device is manufactured from silicon. Gas flow rates of up to 37 SCCM can be proportionally controlled between 10% and 100%. A 10% leakage is always present at low backpressures (< 10 kPa) and increases to roughly 20% at 75 kPa backpressure. The structure has been tested up to backpressures of 300 kPa without damage to the structures, but the leakage increases to over 95%. Our unprecedented microvalve concept shows that it is possible to manufacture all-silicon MEMS microvalves with proportional control of the flow rate. The presented work is a proof of concept to test the capabilities of the NED technology for the use in microvalves. There are plans to decrease the leakage in future designs by introducing an additional sealing layer as well as manufacturing a shutter instead of a plunger design. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-024-05684-1 SN - 1432-1858 SN - 0946-7076 VL - 2024 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Guaraco, Jorge Mario Monsalve A1 - Langa, Sergiu A1 - Stolz, Michael A1 - Mrosk, Andreas A1 - Kaiser, Bert A1 - Schenk, Harald T1 - Design of micromachines under uncertainty with the sample-average approximation method T2 - Journal of Advanced Mechanical Design, Systems, and Manufacturing Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1299/jamdsm.2024jamdsm0018 SN - 1881-3054 VL - 18 (2024) IS - 2 PB - Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers ER -