In this paper a piezoelectrically driven silicon membrane pump with passive dynamic valves is described. It is designed to pump gases and liquids and to be tolerant to gas bubbles. Reducing the dead volume within the pump, and thus increasing the compression ratio, one achieves the gas pumping. The main advantages and novel features of the pump described in the paper are the self-aligning of the membrane unit to the valve unit and the possibility of using screen-printed PZT as actuator, which enables mass production and thus low-cost micropumps. A liquid pump rate of 1500 μl min−1 and a gas pump rate of 690 μl min−1 were achieved.
This paper reports on the design, fabrication, assembly and testing of a micromachined polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system with pigtailed fibre optics. Two major designs have been fabricated and tested. The first design uses two optical fibres, one for the projection of light into the chamber and the other for the collection of the light emitted by a fluorescent dye in the reaction chamber. The second design employs a single optical fibre for the delivery of light into the PCR chamber, with light now being detected using a photodiode integrated into the base and walls of the reaction chamber within the PCR chip. Tests carried out on both systems have produced promising results.
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