MEMS microvalves: the new valve world

摘要

Anyone who has studied electronic circuits may recall that the concepts of current, resistance and capacitance were often taught using analogies to fluid flow in pipes with orifices (resistors) and storage containers (capacitors) influencing the current in the circuit. It is unlikely that the professors at that time had any idea that a day would come when an electronic semi-conductor device would actually have fluid flowing through it. Microstaq Inc. has developed such a device and is producing innovative valve designs that can provide macro flows with a micro device. The technology is based on AAEAAS: Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, which utilizes relatively standard silicon processing to create electromechanical systems. At present the MEMS industry has been flourishing and growing at an annual average growth rate of over 20% a year and MEMS devices have been penetrating the marketplace primarily in the form of microfluidic devices (ink jet print heads), telecommunication components and sensors. Microstaq is the first company to develop the technology and commercialize it for macro-flow control applications. The time has now come to design electronic circuits with microprocessors, integrated circuits, resistors, capacitors and micro-valve flow control devices all on the same circuit board.