Three-way silicon microvalve for pneumatic applications with electrostatic actuation principle

We present a normally closed electrostatically driven 3-way microvalve which is able to meet the requirements of industrial applications like small form factor, high flow rate, low weight, low power consumption and a short response time. The microvalve consists of a 3 layer full-wafer bonded silicon chip stack mounted on a ceramics substrate and a plastic cap covering the valve. A driver electronics which converts the TTL level to the actuation voltage of 200 V is placed on top of the valve. The valve operates in a pressure range of up to 8 bar and offers a flow rate of approximately 500 sccm. Due to the electrostatic actuation principle the peak power consumption is below 10 mW and the response time is below 1 ms.