A MEMS Steam Generator

Previous work [1] has shown that MEMS technology has significant potential to create more compact, higherperforming hardware for chemical oxygen iodine lasers (COIL). In COILs, the laser medium is a flowing gas that must be pumped through the system at high mass flow rates to ensure proper system operation. As a result, compact pumps with high pumping rates are a key element of the COIL system. One promising component of a MEMS COIL system would be a compact MEMS pump system in which the pump action is provided in part by micro steam ejectors and the micro steam generators that supply their driving fluid. This work describes the design and modeling of a microscale hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-based steam generator to supply such a MEMS pump system. Hydrogen peroxide is a readily available, inexpensive, nontoxic, and environmentally friendly fluid that may be catalytically decomposed to form steam. Steam generation by the catalytic decomposition of H2O2 also finds other important applications in the MEMS field beyond pumping, particularly in the area of thrust generation. Compared to their macroscale counterparts, MEMS H2O2-based steam generators offer better performance, notably improved mixing, and higher uniformity due to the absence of moving parts [2-3].