An electrochemically actuated micro dosing system with improved dosing control

In this contribution a micromachined electrochemically-actuated micro dosing system is presented, which accurately can manipulate fluids in microsystems in the nanoliter range. The driving force to actively dispense liquids is provided by the electrochemical generation of gas bubbles (hydrogen and oxygen) by the electrolysis of an electrolyte. As these bubbles expand, they indirectly drive liquid out of a liquid filled reservoir, which is in hydraulic contact with the electrolyte in the bubble reservoir. The dosing system consists basically of a micromachined charmel/reservoir structure in silicon, realized by dry reactive ion etching (DRIB). On top of this silicon fluidic board, a Pyrex® cover is bonded on which a set of electrodes is structured. These electrodes are applied for the generation of gas bubbles and at the same time, to measure the impedance of the gas/electrolyte mixture that is formed after bubble generation. It will be shown that this measured impedance reflects the gas bubble fraction in the bubble reservoir and that this parameter can be applied in determining the dosed amount of fluid. Besides the integrated sensor/actuator electrodes, measures have been taken to reduce the catalytic back reaction from the hydrogen oxygen gas mixture to water, as have been observed in the past.