Abstract
Ceramic materials are increasingly used in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) as they offer many advantages such as high-temperature resistance, high wear resistance, low density, and favourable mechanical and chemical properties at elevated temperature. However, with the emerging of additive manufacturing, the use of ceramics for functional and structural MEMS raises new opportunities and challenges. This paper provides an extensive review of the manufacturing processes used for ceramic-based MEMS, including additive and conventional manufacturing technologies. The review covers the micro-fabrication techniques of ceramics with the focus on their operating principles, main features, and processed materials. Challenges that need to be addressed in applying additive technologies in MEMS include ceramic printing on wafers, post-processing at the micro-level, resolution, and quality control. The paper also sheds light on the new possibilities of ceramic additive micro-fabrication and their potential applications, which indicates a promising future.
Highlights
The increasing demand for micro-fabrication technologies has prompted the introduction of novel miniaturisedJ Adv Ceram 2021, 10(1): 1–27 the bottom” in 1959
This paper explores the use of advanced ceramic micro-fabrication techniques with an emphasis on additive manufacturing
This paper provided an overview of the state of the art in additive micro-fabrication of ceramic mechanical systems (MEMS)
Summary
J Adv Ceram 2021, 10(1): 1–27 the bottom” in 1959. Following this, Petersen [3] introduced silicon as a promising material for the fabrication of micro-components which is the basis of the current MEMS technology. Researchers have been actively interested in developing MEMS technologies [4] This is shown in the increased published journal papers on using microfabrication/ MEMS over the past twenty years (see Fig. 1). Micro-fabrication techniques have been advanced throughout the past 30 years, but most of the progress has been focused on developing new MEMS with. Several conventional manufacturing technologies have been introduced to produce 3D ceramic micro-components. The majority of the conventional micro-fabrication processes has the ability to produce 2.5D ceramic micro-parts and does not have the aptitude to fabricate true 3D micro-parts Emerging technologies such as additive manufacturing have been investigated to improve the capabilities of MEMS industry to fabricate complexshaped 3D micro-components. The paper gives a comprehensive overview of the micro-fabrication processes used for ceramic structures showing their working principles, materials, applications, and limitations
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