Abstract
Micropumps can play a significant role in thermal management applications, as a component of microfluidic cooling systems. For next-generation high density optical communication systems, in particular, heat flux levels are sufficiently high to require a microfluidic circuit for cooling. Valveless piezoelectrically-actuated micropumps are a particularly promising technology to be deployed for this application. These pumps exploit the asymmetric flow behaviour of microdiffusers to achieve net flow. They feature no rotating or contacting parts, which make them intrinsically reliable in comparison to micropumps with active valves. In this paper, two novel microdiffuser elements are reported and characterized. The micropumps were fabricated using a 3D Printer. Each single diffuser had a length of 1800 pm and a depth of 400 pm. An experimental characterization was conducted in which the flow rate and differential pressure were measured as a function of operating frequency. In comparison with standard diffuser, both elements showed an increase in differential pressure in the range of 40 – 280 %, but only one of the elements exhibited an improved flow rate, of about 85 %.
Highlights
Generation high density Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) show significant advantages in terms of performance, miniaturisation and energy efficiency
The flow rate measurements and differential pressure measurements are discussed in section 5.1 and 5.2 respectively
Both novel diffuser elements show an increase in their maximum differential pressure in comparison with the standard diffuser/nozzle element
Summary
Generation high density Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) show significant advantages in terms of performance, miniaturisation and energy efficiency. Thermoelectric modules (TEMs) are currently used to achieve thermal control, but these are limited in terms of heat flux to about 101 W/cm and are notably inefficient in comparison with conventional vapour phase refrigeration. To overcome this thermal issue for future generation PICs, a microfluidic circuit for cooling individual devices is needed. As valveless piezoelectric actuated micropumps feature no rotating or contacting parts (high reliability) and have a simple structure, they are a promising technology to be deployed for this application These pumps exploit the asymmetric flow behaviour of microdiffusers to achieve net flow.
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