LIGA and its Applications

Covering technological aspects as well as the suitability and applicability of various kinds of uses, this handbook shows optimization strategies, techniques and assembly pathways to achieve the combination of complex, even three-dimensional structures with simple manufacturing steps. The authors provide information on markets, commercialization opportunities and aspects of mass or large-scale production as well as design tools, experimental techniques, novel materials, and ideas for future improvements. Not only do they weigh up cost versus quantity, they also consider CMOS and LIGA strategies. Of interest to physicists, electronics engineers, materials scientists, institutional and industrial libraries as well as graduate students of the relevant disciplines.

Volker Saile is the director of the Institute for Microstructure Technology (IMT) at Karlsruhe Technical University, Germany. ((...))

Ulrike Wallrabe is Professor for Microactuators at IMTEK Freiburg, Germany, since 2003. She studied physics at the University of Karlsruhe and went on to obtain her Ph.D. on microturbines and micromotors at the Institute for Microstructure Technology at the Research Centre in Karlsruhe (FZK) in 1992. At IMT, she subsequently dealt with microactuators and their application in medical technology. From 1999 on, she turned to microoptics and developed components for optical metrology, telecommunications and for optical sensors such as fibre connectors, optical switches, distance sensors and spectrometers, generally produced with the LIGA method.
Her research interests include exploration of new actuator materials, actuator fabrication techniques, and combining microactuators and microoptics.

Osamu Tabata is Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Kyoto University, Japan. He performed industrial research at Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories in Aichi from 1981 to 1996. He then joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Ritsumeikan University in Shiga, Japan, and spent Guest Professorships at IMTEK Freiburg, Germany, and at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. In 2003, Japan. He is currently engaged in the research of micro/nano processes, the LIGA process, MEMS and micro/nano system synthetic engineering (SENS). He was honored with the Science News Award in 1987, Presentation Paper Award in 1992, and received the R&D 100 Award in 1993 and 1998.

Jan G. Korvink holds a Chair for Microsystem Technology at Albert Ludwig University in Freiburg, Germany, where he runs the laboratory for microsystem simulation. Prior to that, he worked at the Physical Electronics Lab of the ETH Zurich, where he built up and led the microsystem modeling effort. MEMS simulation programs that were developed by him and his group were successfully commercialized. He has co-authored more than 100 papers in scientific journals and conference digests, as well as numerous book chapters and a book on semiconductors for engineers.
His research interests cover the modeling and simulation of microsystems and the low-cost fabrication of polymer-based MEMS.

Introduction I. Technologies Innovative exposure techniques for 3-D microfabrication Large Surface Area Techniques PTFE photo-fabrication by SR (TIEGA process) Photomask Technologies Photomask Comparisons Galvanics and Molding Simulating New LIGA Processes Commercial Simulation Program Simulation Tools for Design Design for Assembly and Safe Manufacturing II. Applications Market Analysis and Commercialization of LIGA Optical MEMS and Polymer Optics Micromechanics RF Applications Evolution of the Spectrometer Microfluidics in Biotechnology MEMS (actuators) Microfluidics for Biochip Applications Ultrasonic Transducers Swiss Luxury Watches Using MEMS Components III. Outlook Extreme Nanostructuring Novel Resist Systems Hard Gold Interferential X-ray Lithography Table-top Synchrotrons for Future Light Sources and their Application in Microfabrication