Ceramic Microfabrication Techniques for Microdevices with Three-Dimensional Architecture
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Ceramic Microfabrication Techniques for Microdevices with Three-Dimensional Architecture Balakrishnan Nair, Merrill Wilson, Akash Akash, Joe Crandall, Charles Lewinsohn, Raymond Cutler and Marc Flinders Ceramatec, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT 84119, U.S.A. ABSTRACT The term “microfabrication” has been used primarily as an acronym for silicon-based device fabrication. Recent developments in ceramic processing technology have resulted in costeffective, scalable options of ceramic microfabrication that offer the potential for fabrication of devices with a number of advantages over silicon-based microdevices for specific applications. These advantages include the ability to fabricate devices with three-dimensional architecture, high-temperature operation up to 1200oC, porous layers for gas diffusion, and textured substrate properties for specific applications through wider materials selection. Processing routes for these ceramic microdevices with three-dimensional architecture include established processes such as tape casting, laser machining, lamination and sintering, or new processes such as reaction bonding and lost-mold techniques. The ability to fabricate three-dimensional feature geometries allows the application of these ceramic microfabrication techniques for device fabrication targeted at a number of applications such as point-of-use high purity gas generation, microchannel devices, microreactors, fiber-optic connectors and heat-pipes for microelectronics. INTRODUCTION A number of applications such as fiber-optic connectors, MEMS devices, microfluidic devices and microreactors require intricate three-dimensional internal micro-features. The conventional approach to three-dimensional micromachining is through bonding layers of silicon wafers.1 The applicability of conventional devices, especially for elevated temperature applications, is usually limited by the unreliability of seals and joints.2,3 Conventional bulk micro-machining techniques used to form seamless high-precision components with threedimensional architecture often do not provide the desired production rates and costs required for large volume production of components. Other processes such as electrochemical micromachining4 and LIGA5 are being developed for micromachining of metals. These processes, however, are not cost-effective for large volume production either. Further, metals themselves are not stable under elevated operating temperatures due to oxidation and corrosion. Therefore, there is a clear need for cost-effective techniques for bulk-machining that can result in micro-fabricated components with seamless three-dimensional internal features using materials that have good stability at elevated temperatures. Ceramics have excellent corrosion and mechanical properties that make them very attractive for high-temperature applications. Due to the high-cost of manufacturing imposed by conventional processing routes, however, ceramics usually are not considered to be viable options for microfabricated components. This paper describes a num
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