Design and Analysis of Non-spiral Planar Microcoil-Based Electromagnetic Microactuator

Abstract

Lab-on-chip devices essentially require micropumps and valves which incorporate a micro actuating mechanism to control fluid flow. In this work, a non-spiral type planar micro coil is reported for implementing an electromagnetic micro actuator. The effect of variation in coil geometries on the micro actuator performance is analyzed for the first time. The micro coil fabricated and characterized in this work considerably reduces the number of lithography layers, thus improving the ease of fabrication while reducing the series coil resistance. The micro coil structures are further analyzed for the micro actuator performance using finite element method, and the effect of coil geometries on the electromagnetic force generated by the actuator is studied. Microfabrication and electrical characterization results of the non-spiral planar micro coils show the influence of the same on the actuator performance. A tapered square micro coil geometry is proposed to improve the outputs from the actuator.