Impact Piezo-Driven Micro Dispenser and Precise Miniature XY Stage

Abstract

Recently, micro-droplet dispensation has been required in printed-electronics (PE) technology. Devices with micro dispensing mechanism are of key importance in achieving a higher performance with these products. In fact, it is very difficult for the conventional dispenser to squeeze highly viscous liquid with picoliter resolution. This paper describes the development of a dispensing mechanism comprising a dispensing device and XY stage, both driven by the piezo impulsive force. The dispensing device is mainly composed of a pipette and a taper needle that is driven by a piezoelectric element. When the needle passes through the pipette, a droplet of the liquid adheres to the needle-tip end. A micro droplet can be transcribed to a target surface by bringing the droplet at the needle-tip end in contact with the target surface. On the contrary, in the XY stage, the small tables on the V-shaped grooves can be driven by the impulsive force generated by the mass connected to the piezoelectric element. The X stage is stacked on the Y stage, which allows fine positioning in the plane. In the experiment, an array of a small amount of 0.2-picoliter droplets was successfully developed on the glass plate.