This paper presents a novel gas microvalve design in which a flow control gate is opened by the pneumatic pressure and closed by a SMA actuator, allowing large flow control. The microvalves were fabricated using a novel wafer-level Au-Si eutectic bonding process for TiNi to silicon integration. The resulting microvalves demonstrate a record pneumatic performance per footprint area; a microvalve of only 1×3.3 mm2 footprint successfully controls 3000 sccm at a pressure drop of 130 kPa.
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