Micromechanic pump

A process for producing a micromechanical pump, comprising the steps of:

• providing a first substrate and applying or incorporating drive electrodes on in in the substrate;
• providing a SOI substrate and forming a cavity which is formed to make a continuously endless channel in a SOI layer of the SOI substrate;
• applying an insulating layer on the surface of the SOI layer;
• adjusted joining of the surface of the insulating layer, applied on the SOI layer, with the surface of the first substrate, one which are located electrodes;
• producing a membrane by thinning the SOI substrate up to the embedded insulator layer;
• and
• providing a third substrate as the cover and joining the cover with the surface of the thinned SOI substrate outside the membrane area.

A micromechanical pump comprising:

• a substrate;
• a cover;
• a cavity formed in the upper side of said substrate, said cavity being endlessly continuous so as to form a channel for a drive fluid;
• an electrically conductive or conductively coated membrane stretching across the cavity on an upper side of the substrate and positioned below said cover;
• a plurality of insulated electrodes on the surface of the cover and facing the membrane;
• wherein said electrodes are selectively actuated to attract selected areas of the membrane, the selected areas being in sealing contact with the cover, and non-selected areas of the membrane forming respective gaps with the cover, the membrane forming a space with said substrate, said space being located in said cavity and being filled by the drive fluid.