Low cost fabrication of micromechanical systems

✍ Scribed by Zheng Cui; Ron A. Lawes

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 269 KB
• Volume: 35
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0167-9317
• DOI: 10.1016/s0167-9317(96)00207-9

✦ Synopsis

A new low-cost UV LIGA process using photoresists as sacrificial layers has been developed to fabricate micromechanical components and systems. Commonly used photoresists are spun on a substrate and patterned by a mask aligner. Free-standing metal structures are built by patterning a second layer of thick photoresist and electroplating upon the photoresist sacrificial layer. Compared with all the existing sacrificial layer techniques, photoresists are easy to coat, easy to dissolve and fewer process steps are involved. The process is compatible to most of the materials and processes used in existing microfabrication technology. The precision issue of UV LIGA technique is also discussed.