Fluid-actuated microfluidic membrane pump with differently-sized inlet and outlet ports

A microfluidic system comprising:

• a substrate;
• a microfluidic pump positioned within the substrate, the microfluidic pump comprising:
• an outer pump wall formed within the substrate, the substrate forming an outer pump wall top side, bottom side, a first end, and second end;
• an inner wall defining a pumping chamber, the pumping chamber having a chamber length, a chamber height, a chamber top side, a chamber bottom side, a chamber front side, a chamber back side, and first and second chamber ends;
• a flexible drive membrane having a membrane width and a membrane thickness, a membrane top side, and a membrane bottom side, wherein the membrane width intersects the chamber height between the chamber top side and chamber bottom side and spans the chamber width, forming a pressure chamber, and a fluid flow chamber within the pumping chamber;
• a control port in fluid connection with the pressure chamber and the outer pump wall;
• a first fluidic channel having a first inlet port, a first outlet port, a first channel height, and a first port diameter, the first inlet port being positioned in fluid connection with the outer pump wall, and the first outlet port being positioned in fluid connection with the fluid flow chamber on a side of the pumping chamber opposite the drive membrane;
• a second fluidic channel having a second inlet port, a second outlet port, a second channel height, and a second port diameter, the second inlet port being positioned in fluid connection with the fluid flow chamber on a side of the pumping chamber opposite the drive membrane, and the second outlet port being positioned in fluid connection with the outer pump wall, wherein the first port diameter and the second port diameter are differently sized such that the first port diameter is smaller than the second port diameter;
• a first micro-channel positioned within the substrate and in fluid connection with the first inlet port;
• a second micro-channel positioned within the substrate and in fluid connection with the second outlet port;
• and
• a third micro-channel positioned within the substrate and in fluid connection with the control port,
• wherein the chamber bottom side has a first cross sectional area surrounding and including the dimension of the first inlet port to a mid-point distance between the first and second chamber ends, and a second cross sectional area surrounding and including the dimension of the second inlet port to the mid-point distance between the first and second chamber ends, and wherein the first cross sectional area is smaller than second cross sectional area.