MNS Tecan vFinal DR 27/6/08 10:29 Page 19
MICRONANOSYSTEMS
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The process has huge potential and is already
being used to produce structures and components,
at microscopic levels, such as gear wheels, coils,
encoder discs, lenses, micro filters and similar
products, which may be stand-alone devices or
component parts of other micro systems.
Nick Hollinshead, Tecan’s Senior Process
Technologist, said, “Imagine a micro component
with customised integrated layers of materials,
these could include metals or polymers, maybe
with electronic interconnects or micro-fluidic
channels, virtually any combination of these is
possible. Alternatively, single material parts such
as plastic-only components can be produced.”
Niche application benefits
Advantages of the process include, low production
costs, ultra-fine tolerances, superior surface
finishes and high precision. Also, exceptional
repeatability, stress and burr free, superior
co-planarity, sharp edge definition, variations in
hardness, multi-level ‘stepped’ profiles, low tooling
costs, short lead times and easy batch fabrication.
The use of polymers, in particular, enables not and formats, significantly reducing
only the manufacture of stand-alone plastic customer-side processing.
components, but also the integration of new The nozzles offer reliable and robust solutions
functionality and the possibility of integration with for all types of print heads, from office machines
optoelectronic and micro-fluidic devices. The to industrial labelling, photographic machines and
manufacturing process assures the minimal other single and multiple-aperture liquid
tolerances at highest possible reproducibility. deposition systems. Typically produced in nickel,
Furthermore, while taking advantage of the latest the parts can also be plated, for example with gold
advances in polymer techniques, the new process or palladium, to deal with specific needs such as
loses none of the benefits associated with the ‘aggressive’ ink chemistry.
existing PEF process, says the company. Shaun Mason, Sales Director, Tecan, said, Diagrams 5 and 5a.
“These micro components perform particularly ‘Process step 5: Make
Hybrid reality for ink-jet nozzles well in harsh environments such as those subject to electrical
A recent hybrid custom application example is the corrosion and physical shock.” Due to the highly connections to the
production of specialized ink-jet printer nozzles. specialised processes involved we invariably satisfy mandrel and
The PEF nozzles and nozzle arrays feature customised OEM solutions on a joint-development immerse in the
uniform mirror finish aperture walls that basis, often with full non-disclosure agreements to electrolyte solution.
contribute to superior ink deposition. They are protect their IP, we are therefore restricted in how Electrical current
easy to clean over the entire nozzle surface and much detail we can disclose. It is fair to say and deposition time
offer long operational lifetimes and high however that we have completed a number of determine thickness
print consistency. highly-beneficial solutions for a range of
The nature of the cost-efficient PEF process application-specific new-generation MEMS,
where metal is literally ‘grown’ molecule by sub-assemblies and component parts, both
molecule lends itself perfectly to the creation of an all-metal and metal/polymer hybrids such as the
ink-jet nozzle aperture. The process has been ink-jet nozzles. We are very excited about the
refined so that as the metal is deposited it forms long-term growth prospects of this technology and
perfect funnel shaped apertures that can plan to expand our market share in line with Diagrams 6. Process
contribute significantly to printing accuracy market growth. We expect to be a significant step 6: After the
and efficiency. player in this new world of micro endeavour.” desired thickness
Furthermore, the metal thickness can be Opened in 2002, Tecan’s £2 million facility has been achieved,
selectively increased, beyond 1:1 aspect ratios, to houses a Class 1000 clean room, within which the parts are
meet exact strength and rigidity requirements. are a number of Class 100 areas. These highly removed and
For example, solid portions such as lateral clean areas ensure the provision of particle-free residual photoresist
supports can easily be incorporated into the environments where components with is stripped, leaving
design. The nozzles can also be supplied as sub-micron features can be repeatedly and smooth apertures in
complete solutions to individually specified shapes consistently fabricated. the finished product
July 2008
www.micronanosystems.info
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