Originally Published MPMN November
2004
INDUSTRY NEWS
Enhanced Micromanufacturing
System Sees Designers through Thick and Thin
Corinne
Litchfield
A company specializing in microdevice and microsystem fabrication has extended
the capabilities of its micromanufacturing process to offer structures with
layer thicknesses of 2 to 50 µm. Microfabrica Inc. (Burbank, CA;
www.microfabrica.com)
enhanced its EFAB micromanufacturing technology to enable designers to create
taller microdevices and systems. Micron-precise metal layers can be deposited
in large numbers to make three-dimensional microdevices. The thick-layer capability
benefits a variety of applications, including ink-jet printhead nozzles, inertial
measurement units, and magnetic microsystems.
The EFAB process combines the geometric flexibility of surface micromachining
and the high aspect ratio of the LIGA (lithography, electroplating, and molding)
technique. EFAB technology goes beyond the single-layer LIGA technique, however,
by allowing many tens of layers of various thicknesses to be stacked on top
of each other to form three-dimensional microdevices.
“The ability to fabricate thin structures such as springs, cantilevers,
and diaphragms within the same device as thicker structures…has always
been a problem with conventional micromachining technology. By combining the
high-aspect-ratio advantages of LIGA with the geometric flexibility of surface
machining, EFAB has become the most versatile microfabrication technology available,”
says Chris Bang, vice president of design and applications engineering at Microfabrica.
Microfabrica’s thick-layer process was developed with the support of a
Small Business Innovation Research Phase II grant from the National Science
Foundation. The capabilities developed under the grant have been integrated
with the company’s standard EFAB process and are available to customers
for immediate use.
Copyright ©2004 Medical Product Manufacturing News
