Patent ID: 7572109

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a thermopneumatic capillary micropump, the method comprising: forming two or more micro-heaters and electrodes coupled to the micro-heaters respectively by patterning after depositing chrome and gold on a lower substrate made of glass by chemical vapor deposition; forming a pump-entrance for injecting fluids and a pump-exit for exhausting the fluids through the lower substrate by using an electric chemical discharging process, respectively; forming two or more air chambers substantially covering the micro-heaters by using photolithography technology after coating a negative thick film photoresist on the lower substrate; forming a pump chamber unit capable of being filled with the fluids, and that is coupled to the pump-entrance, the pump-exit, and the air chambers by using the photolithography technology; wherein the pump chamber unit comprises: a capillary tube coupled to the pump-entrance; a pump chamber for containing fluids, the pump chamber being coupled to the capillary tube; a main pneumatic channel and a subsidiary pneumatic channel for guiding the flow of air between the pump chamber and the air chambers; wherein the subsidiary pneumatic channel exhausts air remaining in the pump chamber as fluids are filled up to the main pneumatic channel through the pump chamber; forming an airing channel coupled to the air chambers, wherein the airing channel helps maintain the pressures of air in the air chambers at about the same level; depositing an oxide layer on an upper substrate; and coupling the upper substrate and the lower substrate by using thermopneumatic method.