Microfabricated Electrodynamic Synthetic Jet Actuators

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a chip-scale electrodynamic synthetic jet actuator with batch-fabricated die components. The actuator is an assembly of two dies with a plastic spacer sandwiched in between. The top die consists of a copper micro-coil and an orifice through which the jet is synthesized. The bottom die consists of a poly-dimethyl-siloxane diaphragm with a wax-bonded NdFeB magnet. When assembled, an ac current applied to the micro-coil forces an oscillatory actuation of the magnet, and correspondingly ingestion and expulsion of fluid through the orifice. The dimensions of the assembled actuator are 7.5 mm × 7.5 mm × 1.1 mm. The peak jet velocity is measured to be 4.3 m/s at 160 Hz for an input of 200-mA pp current corresponding to 20 mW of input electrical power.