Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
Enabling unique architectures and functionalities of microsystems for numerous applications in electronics, photonics and other areas often requires microassembly of separately prepared heterogeneous materials instead of monolithic microfabrication. However, microassembly of dissimilar materials while ensuring high structural integrity has been challenging in the context of deterministic transferring and joining of materials at the microscale where surface adhesion is far more dominant than body weight. Here we present an approach to assembling microsystems with microscale building blocks of four disparate classes of device-grade materials including semiconductors, metals, dielectrics, and polymers. This approach uniquely utilizes reversible adhesion-based transfer printing for material transferring and thermal processing for material joining at the microscale. The interfacial joining characteristics between materials assembled by this approach are systematically investigated upon different joining mechanisms using blister tests. The device level capabilities of this approach are further demonstrated through assembling and testing of a microtoroid resonator and a radio frequency (RF) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switch that involve optical and electrical functionalities with mechanical motion. This work opens up a unique route towards 3D heterogeneous material integration to fabricate microsystems.
Highlights
While monolithic microfabrication has been quite successful in the manufacturing of microsystems such as integrated circuits (IC) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)[1,2], continued innovation towards three dimensional (3D) architectures and heterogeneous integration has been limited, which would otherwise enable improvements in performance and novel functionalities of microsystems
The ink materials addressed in this work are single crystalline Si, thermally grown SiO2, sputter deposited Au and lithographically patterned SU8, and they are processed into ink arrays such that they are retrieved from donor substrates during transfer printing (Supplementary Fig. 1 through Supplementary Fig. 4)
It is worthwhile to note that the temperature of individual joining process should be considered when the sequence of assembling materials is set since materials such as SU8 or Au may not withstand the high temperature for Si-Si or Si-SiO2 fusion bonding
Summary
While monolithic microfabrication has been quite successful in the manufacturing of microsystems such as integrated circuits (IC) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)[1,2], continued innovation towards three dimensional (3D) architectures and heterogeneous integration has been limited, which would otherwise enable improvements in performance and novel functionalities of microsystems. We extend micro-masonry to an approach to assembling microsystems with four disparate classes of device-grade materials including Si (semiconductor), SiO2 (dielectric), Au (metal), and epoxy-based SU8 (polymer) at the microscale We refer to this approach as ‘micro-Lego’ due to the similarities to the commercial product, Lego, in the aspects of stacking and joining of different types of building blocks while at different scales. Electrical connection between constituents on different steps of the RF MEMS switch is fulfilled to highlight 3D interconnection by micro-Lego These 3D heterogeneous architectures are extremely challenging or inaccessible to reproduce via conventional monolithic microfabrication or other microassembly techniques such as those based on robotic pick-and-place[15] and fluidic assembly[16]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
