Development of FGM monomorph actuator for impedance pump application

In the present work, the FGM monomorph actuator was developed and applied in the impedance pump. The actuator was fabricated using electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Two starting materials, pure PZT and doped PZT, were mixed to form four different compositions. The actuator was then fabricated by sequential deposition of the four compositions layer by layer on the substrate and followed by sintering to full density. The actuator shows both piezoelectric property and microstructural gradient across the layers. The actuator is able to achieve a bending displacement of nearly 2 mm at resonant frequency. It has been successfully applied to the impedance pump as the actuating component. The pumping action comes from the periodic compression by the actuator to induce a net flow. Maximum flow was observed at the resonant frequency of the actuator. A flow rate of about 9 ml/min was generated.