Manufacturing pinhole arrays for X-ray source diagnostics using LIGA

 The manufacturing of pinhole arrays with diameters 10 μm up to 60 μm in 100–300 μm gold foils is described using LIGA. These structures are used to characterize the electron beam in a storage ring by means of the emitted synchrotron radiation. The source inside the bending magnet 13 at BESSY I (single bunch mode, 70 mA ring current, pinholes: ∅60 μm) is (448±40) μm in height and (768±40)μm in horizontal width. For BESSY II pinholes with ∅ 10–20 μm will be used utilizing bending magnet radiation (resolution ∼10 μm), single pinholes with 1–5 μm in diameter are dedicated to insertion device characterization (coherence). Received: 25 August 1997/Accepted: 23 October 1997     

Linewidth design rules for microstructures manufactured in PMMA resist using X-ray LIGA

During the past decade, individual simulation modules for the LIGA process have been developed, such as the power spectrum of the X-rays available from a given synchrotron, the effect of various components in the beam line, the image structure in the resist and image development. This has lead to an understanding of the parameters affecting the basic dimensional relationship between the mask and the 3D image in the resist itself. The commercialization of X-ray LIGA now requires knowledge of the parameters affecting the production engineering of micro devices. Foremost among these parameters are the manufacturing tolerances arising from variations in key microfabrication steps. This paper seeks to integrate the various physical simulation models into a single interactive program, whereby the design engineer can see the effect of different synchrotron output spectra, different beamline constructions and different resist parameters on the dimensions of the planned 3D microstructure. A novel approach to estimating the dimensional tolerances to be expected with large scale production is developed and comparison made with data available from the literature. Predicted results from using a particular synchrotron with a beamline designed to approximate to a “standard” exposure spectra at the rest surface are calculated, showing the microstructure shape and tolerance expected in large scale production. From these data a basic set of equations are established from which “Linewidth Design rules for LIGA” can be established. The steps following definition of the resist structure, for example electrodeposition, injection moulding or hot embossing, are not studied here.     

Inexpensive, quickly producable X-ray mask for LIGA

 The capability to produce X-ray masks inexpensively and rapidly is expected to greatly enhance the commercial appeal of the LIGA process. This paper presents a process to fabricate X-ray masks both inexpensively (under $1000) and rapidly (within a few days). The process involves one UV lithography step and eliminates the need for an intermediate X-ray mask. The X-ray mask produced by this process consists of a 125 μm thick graphite membrane that supports a gold-on-nickel absorber pattern. The thickness of the absorber structures is great enough to supply sufficient contrast even when radiation sources with high characteristic photon energies up to 40 keV are utilized and/or when deep exposures are desired. The mask fabrication process is initiated by spin coating 30–50 μm of SU-8 directly on a graphite membrane. The SU-8 is then patterned using a UV mask. Gold-on-nickel absorber structures are electroplated directly onto the SU-8 covered graphite. Once the remaining SU-8 is removed, attaching the graphite membrane to a frame completes the mask. To test the performance of the mask, a nickel mold insert was fabricated. A sheet of PMMA 500 μm in thickness was bonded to a nickel substrate, then exposed to X-rays through the mask, and developed. Electroplating nickel into the patterned PMMA sheet produced a mold insert. SEM pictures taken of the SU-8, the X-ray mask, and the mold insert are shown. This method of rapidly producing an inexpensive X-ray mask for LIGA resulted in a mold insert with smooth, vertical sidewalls whose dimensions were within two micrometers of the UV mask dimensions. Received: 12 December 1998/Accepted: 2 February 1999     

Reflectivity test of X-ray mirrors for deep X-ray lithography

The reflectivity of grazing angle X-ray mirrors, used for X-ray deep lithography, is tested by means of a calorimetric method. A deviation in the reflectivity of a used mirror compared with the reflectivity of a clean surface is observed. This deviation is caused by an oxide layer on the mirrors surfaces. The density, thickness and roughness of the assumed oxide layers are determined experimentally.     

Tolerance analysis for comb-drive actuator using DRIE fabrication

Deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) process is specially invented for bulk micromachining fabrication with the objective of realizing high aspect ratio microstructures. However, various tolerances, such as slanted etched profile, uneven deep beams and undercut, cannot be avoided during the fabrication process. In this paper, the origins of various fabrication tolerances together with its effects on the performances of lateral comb-drive actuator, in terms of electrostatic force, mechanical stiffness, stability and displacement, are discussed. It shows that comb finger with positive slope generates larger electrostatic force. The mechanical stiffness along lateral direction increases when the folded beam slants negatively. The displacement is 4.832 times larger if the comb finger and folded beam are tapered to +1° and −1°, respectively. The uneven deep fingers generate an abrupt force and displacement when the motion distance reaches the initial overlap length. The undercut reduces both the driving force and the mechanical stiffness of the lateral comb-drive actuator. The fabricated comb-drive actuator, with comb finger of +1° profile and 0.025 μm undercut, and folded beam of −1° slope and 0.075 μm undercut, is measured and compared with the models where both show consistent results. These analytical results can be used to compensate the fabrication tolerances at design stage and allow the actuators to provide more predictable performance.     

Assembly of hybrid integrated micro-optical modules using passive alignment with LIGA mounting elements and adhesive bonding techniques

 Assembling hybrid integrated micro-optical modules for mono-mode applications requires alignment tolerances better than ±1 μm which, so far, were achieved by complex active alignment of the micro-optical components. This article describes a passive assembly concept employing high-precision LIGA structures to simplify assembly and reduce manufacturing costs. The advantages of this passive assembly concept are demonstrated in the micro-optical assembly of a heterodyne receiver. The micro-optical components (ball microlenses, prisms, glass fibers, photodiodes) were aligned passively by means of alignment structures made of PMMA, and were subsequently fixed by UV-curing adhesive. Photodiodes were additionally contacted with electrically conducting adhesive cured at 70 °C. The mono-mode glass fibers were mounted in fiber mounts into the fiber grooves of which the glass fibers were inserted and immobilized with UV-curing adhesive. Measurements of the optical quality of the heterodyne receiver indicated an accuracy of assembly better than 1 μm. Received: 3 January 2000/Accepted: 9 February 2000     

State space reduction using partial order techniques

With the advancement of computer technology, highly concurrent systems are being developed. The verification of such systems is a challenging task, as their state space grows exponentially with the number of processes. Partial order reduction is an effective technique to address this problem. It relies on the observation that the effect of executing transitions concurrently is often independent of their ordering. In this paper we present the basic principles behind partial order reduction and its implementation.     

Micro injection molding for mass production using LIGA mold inserts

Micro molding is one of key technologies for mass production of polymer micro parts and structures with high aspect ratios. The authors developed a commercially available micro injection molding technology for high aspect ratio microstructures (HARMs) with LIGA-made mold inserts and pressurized CO₂ gasses. The test inserts made of nickel with the smallest surface details of 5 μm with structural height of 15 μm were fabricated by using LIGA technology. High surface quality in terms of low surface roughness of the mold inserts allowed using for injection molding. Compared to standard inserts no draft, which is required to provide a proper demolding, was formed in the inserts. To meet higher economic efficiency and cost reduction, a fully electrical injection molding machine of higher accuracy has been applied with dissolving CO₂ gasses into molten resin. The gasses acts as plasticizer and improves the flowability of the resin. Simultaneously, pressurizing the cavity with the gasses allows high replication to be obtained. Micro injection molding, using polycarbonate as polymer resins, with the aspect ratio of two was achieved in the area of 28 × 55 mm² at the cycle time of 40 s with CO₂ gasses, in contrast to the case of the aspect ratio of 0.1 without the gasses.     

Inertial sensor technology using DRIE and wafer bonding withconnecting capability

A novel device structure utilizing deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) technology and aligned wafer bonding was developed. In this structure, an interconnecting scheme for electrical signal routing with signal crossovers is realized. Also, the `footing effect' and the `bowing effect,' which are inherent in DRIE processes, were investigated in detail. A mask layout strategy for solving the footing effect was developed. A novel two-step etching process was developed for solving the bowing effect. Lateral accelerometers (one axis and two-axis) were successfully fabricated using this technology     

Production issues for high aspect ratio Lobster-eye optics using LIGA

We have previously considered some of the parameters for, and production issues involved in making, a useful Lobster-eye prototype using X-ray lithography. Due to the high aspect ratio and dense packing of the array features, we were unable, in our initial attempts to produce optimal Lobster-eye optics using X-ray lithography and a PMMA resist, to consistently overcome adhesion issues between the substrate and the resist. In recent work we have overcome this problem by using SU-8 as the resist instead. In the light of this advance we reconsider the relevant parameters and production issues when using SU-8 and lower-energy exposures.     

Production issues for high aspect ratio Lobster-eye optics using LIGA

 A square packed array of square-channels with long channel axis aligned radially is a useful structure for condensing grazing incidence flux to a focus. These devices, known as Lobster-eye optics for their similarity to the eyes of the macruran crustaceans, show great promise as the focusing optic in the next generation of X-ray all-sky monitors. At X-ray wavelengths the optimal Lobster-eye structure requires an aspect ratio of channel length to width of greater than 30:1. Following recent success in fabricating a low aspect ratio Lobster-eye structure, we discuss some of the parameters for, and production issues involved in making, a useful Lobster-eye prototype using LIGA. We report on our initial attempts to produce high aspect ratio Lobster-eye optics using the LIGA process with a graphite substrate. Received: 10 August 2001/Accepted: 24 September 2001 AGP gratefully acknowledges receipt of an ARC post-doctoral fellowship. This work was supported by the Australian Synchrotron Research Program, which is funded by the Commonwealth of Australia under the Major National Research Facilities Program. Use of the Advanced Photon Source was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Energy Research, under Contract No. W-31-109-Eng-38. This paper was presented at the Fourth International Workshop on High Aspect Ratio Microstructure Technology HARMST 2001 in June 2001.     

Equations of exposure time and X-ray mask absorber thickness in the LIGA process

 The LIGA X-ray exposure step was modeled into three inequalities from exposure requirements. From these inequalities, equations for the minimum and maximum exposure times required for a good quality microstructure were obtained. An equation for the thickness of an X-ray mask absorber was also obtained from the exposure requirement of threshold dose deposition. A power function of photon energy, approximating the attenuation length of the representative LIGA resist, PMMA, and the mean photon energy of the X-rays incident upon an X-ray mask absorber were applied to the above mentioned equations. Consequently, the trends of the minimum and maximum exposure times with respect to mean photon energy of X-rays and thickness of PMMA were examined and an equation for the maximum exposable thickness of PMMA was obtained. The trends of the necessary thickness of a gold X-ray mask absorber with respect to photon energy of the X-rays and PMMA thickness ratio were also examined. The simplicity of the derived equations has clarified the X-ray exposure phenomenon and the interplay of exposure times, the attenuation coefficient and the thickness of an X-ray mask absorber, the attenuation coefficient and the thickness of a resist, and synchrotron radiation power density. Received: 22 November 1999/Accepted: 27 January 2000     

Development of miniaturized piezoelectric actuators for opticalapplications realized using LIGA technology

To combine the advantages of the LIGA technology and piezoelectric materials, first prototypes of movable elastic LIGA structures have been realized on piezoelectric substrates. The structures consist of a flexible beam fixed to the piezoelectric substrate at its two ends in order to amplify the d₃₁-contraction of the piezoelectric substrate. By using this flexible LIGA beam as a magnification mechanism, the small displacements of the piezoelectric substrate are amplified by more than a factor of 20, offering various possibilities of applications, especially in micro-optics. In this paper, first the fabrication process and the performance of these new prototypes of LIGA piezoelectric actuators are described in detail, demonstrating the feasibility of the new concept combining the LIGA technique and piezoelectric substrates. Subsequently, LIGA-piezoelectric actuators developed for micro-optical applications are presented. These new optical actuators are also based on an elastic beam but slightly modified in order to modulate light propagating in optical fibers. They find promising applications as micro-optical attenuators or choppers whose performance is demonstrated     

Bulk micromachining fabrication platform using the integration of DRIE and wet anisotropic etching

This study presents a bulk micromachining fabrication platform on the (100) single crystal silicon substrate. The fabrication platform has employed the concept of vertical corner compensation structure and protecting structure to integrate the wet anisotropic etching and DRIE processes. Based on the characteristics of wet anisotropic etching and DRIE, various MEMS components are demonstrated using the bulk micromachining platform. For instance, the free suspended thin film structures and inclined structures formed by the {111} crystal planes are fabricated by the wet etching. On the other hand, the mesas and cavities with arbitrary shapes and the structures with different leve l heights (or depths) are realized by the characteristics of DRIE. Since the aforementioned structures can be fabricated and integrated using the presented fabrication platform, the applications of the bulk micromachining processes will significantly increase.This research is based on the work supported by WALSIN LIHWA Corporation and the National Science Council of Taiwan under grant of NSC-91–2218-E-007–034. The authors would like to thank the Central Regional MEMS Research Center of National Science Council, Semiconductor Research Center of National Chiao Tung University and National Nano Device Laboratory for providing the fabrication facilities.     

Microfabrication of massive parallel micromirror-lenses by X-ray LIGA technique: recent advances and prospects

Modern microfabrication techniques enable to obtain novel 2D lens systems which are the marriage of warped microchannel plates and Fresnel lenses. They rely on a multitude of precisely inclined micromirrors, acting together as very efficient macroscopic lenses for all electromagnetic wavelengths from the infrared, up to X-rays and even for particles like neutrons. Especially interesting is the fabrication of some-cm apertured lenses in the VUV and EUV region. X-ray LIGA is a favorite candidate for the fabrication of such lenses due to its inherent technological precision and capability to produce high aspect ratio structures. Theoretical consideration and limits for the design of such lens systems are presented, together with first investigations concerning surface-smoothing by spin-on glass in order to make such lens systems to work in the X-ray region.This paper was presented at the Fourth International Workshop on High Aspect Ratio Microstructure Technology HARMST 2001 in June 2001.     

Studies of the adhesion properties of LIGA microstructures by X-ray spectroscopy and mechanical measurements

In the first step of the LIGA process microstructures with high aspect ratios are fabricated by patterning a resist layer with deep etch X-ray lithography. As resist typically PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) is used. For the following electroforming process and to achieve perfect microstructures the adhesion of the PMMA on the substrates is of great importance. For a better understanding the adhesion mechanism, particular induced through the adhesion promoter MEMO (methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane) was investigated on various substrates. Two methods, namely XANES/EXAFS spectroscopy under grazing incidence and shear stress measurements were modified for the specific needs of microstructures. Our studies proved that the adhesion strength is determined by two factors. A rough surface, which allows mechanical interlocking, increases the adhesion strength by about 10%. The larger part of the adhesion strength is determined by formation of chemical bonds when adding an adhesion promoter. E.g. addition of 5% adhesion promoter increases the adhesion strength by 90%. These results were, as far as possible, confirmed by the X-ray spectroscopical measurements.     

Fabrication of microneedle array using LIGA and hot embossing process

We demonstrate a novel fabrication technology of the microneedle array applied to painless drug delivery and minimal invasive blood extraction. The fabrication technology consists of a vertical deep X-ray exposure and a successive inclined deep X-ray exposure with a deep X-ray mask whose pattern has a hollow triangular array. The vertical exposure makes triangular column array with a needle conduit. With the successive inclined exposure, the column array shapes into the microneedle array without deep X-ray mask alignment. Changing the inclined angle and the gap between the mask and PMMA (PolyMethylMetaAcrylic) substrate, different types of microneedle array are fabricated in 750–1000 m shafts length, 15^o–20^o tapered tips angle, and 190–300 m bases area. The masks are designed to 400–600 m triangles length, 70–100 m conduits diameter, 25–60EA/5 mm² arrays density, and various tip shapes such as triangular, rounded, or arrow-like features. In the medical application, the fabricated PMMA microneedle array fulfills the structural requirements such as three-dimensional sharp tapered tip, HAR (High-Aspect-Ratio) shafts, small invasive surface area, and out-of-plane structure. In the skin test, the microneedle array penetrates back of the hand skin with minimum pain and without tip break and blood is drawn after puncturing the skin. Hot embossing process and mold fabrication process are also investigated with silicon and PDMS mold. The processed tetrahedral PMMA structures are fabricated into the microneedle array by the additional deep X-ray exposure. With these processes, the microneedle array can be utilized as the mold base for electroplating process.The author thanks the staff in 9 C LIGA beamline, Pohang Light Source (PLS), Korea for their assistance on the fabrication process.     

Studies of the adhesion properties of LIGA microstructures by X-ray spectroscopy and mechanical measurements

In the first step of the LIGA process microstructures with high aspect ratios are fabricated by patterning a resist layer with deep etch X-ray lithography. As resist typically PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) is used. For the following electroforming process and to achieve perfect microstructures the adhesion of the PMMA on the substrates is of great importance. For a better understanding the adhesion mechanism, particular induced through the adhesion promoter MEMO (methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane) was investigated on various substrates. Two methods, namely XANES/EXAFS spectroscopy under grazing incidence and shear stress measuremsents were modified for the specific needs of microstructures. Our studies proved that the adhesion strength is determined by two factors. A rough surface, which allows mechanical interlocking, increases the adhesion strength by about 10%. The larger part of the adhesion strength is determined by formation of chemical bonds when adding an adhesion promoter. E.g. addition of 5% adhesion promoter increases the adhesion strnegth by 90%. These results were, as far as possible, confirmed by the X-ray spectroscopical measurements. The financial support of this project by the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (contract No. 05 5P DAX18) is gratefully acknowledged.     

Fabrication of collimating grids for an x-ray solar telescope using LIGA methods

 We are fabricating sub-collimating X-ray grids that are to be used in an orbiting solar X-ray telescope. The telescope optics consist of twelve rotating pairs of high aspect ratio grids. The pitch for the grids ranges from 34 μm to 317 μm. The grid thickness-to-grid-slit ratio must be approximately 50:1, resulting in grid thicknesses of 1 to 10 millimeters. We are implementing a design in which a 34 μm pitch, free-standing PMMA grid is fabricated with 20 μm wide slits through a 800 μm thickness. After exposure and developing, metal is electrodeposited into the slits in the PMMA grid and the PMMA is left in place to hold the individual metal pieces. For optimum imaging performance, the root-mean-square pitch of the two grids of each pair must match to within 1 part in 10000 and simultaneous exposures of stacked sheets of PMMA have insured that this requirement is met. Received: 30 October 1995 / Accepted: 25 January 1996