Embossing of microscale features in Pb and Zn

Dean J. Guidry; Dong Mei Cao; Tao Wang; Wen Jin Meng; Kevin W. Kelly

doi:10.1117/12.472758

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15 January 2003 Embossing of microscale features in Pb and Zn

Dean J. Guidry, Dong Mei Cao, Tao Wang, Wen Jin Meng, Kevin W. Kelly

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Proceedings Volume 4979, Micromachining and Microfabrication Process Technology VIII; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.472758
Event: Micromachining and Microfabrication, 2003, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Embossing of microscale features into Pb and Zn was carried out using LIGA (Lithographie, Galvanoformung, Abformung) fabricated Ni mold inserts with features 100 microns in diameter and 500 microns in height. Molding was carried out at 300 °C with both uncoated Ni inserts and Ni inserts coated with Ti-containing hydrocarbon (Ti-C:H). The coatings were applied using a high-density inductively coupled plasma (ICP) assisted hybrid chemical vapor deposition (CVD)/physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique. This technique is shown to produce coatings conformally onto LIGA fabricated high aspect ratio microstructures (HARMs). The performance of the molding process was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy both in terms of the features generated and the insert condition after molding. The present results indicate that in molding metals that are not reactive with Ni no coating is necessary to produce the microfeatures. This study also demonstrates that in molding Zn, where significant metal/insert chemical interactions exist, surface engineering of the mold insert is necessary to obtain satisfactory performance. Conformal deposition of engineered ceramic coatings onto Ni microscale mold inserts is an effective means for achieving micromolding of reactive metals.

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Dean J. Guidry, Dong Mei Cao, Tao Wang, Wen Jin Meng, and Kevin W. Kelly "Embossing of microscale features in Pb and Zn", Proc. SPIE 4979, Micromachining and Microfabrication Process Technology VIII, (15 January 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.472758

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