The creation of one or several 3D objects through an additive manufacturing process. Typically objects are grown in layer by layer and dot by dot fashion within the layers. The process allows small scale as well as large scale manufacturing of 3D objects out of a variety of materials.
High precision part, with dimensions in the one millimeter range or significantly smaller, and micrometer tolerance schemes.
Micro-Electro-Mechanical System: The integration of mechanical structures (moving parts) with microelectronics.
Include microelectronics, photonics, optoelectronics, micromachining, microfluidics, embedded software and progressively nano-scale phenomena in small space. The system is characterized by a high degree of miniaturization.
Microsystems Technology: a collective term for technologies to built microsystems
Components and geometrical structures with dimensions in the micron range.
Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Manufacturing: Collective term for production methods, which are based on no tooling, additive/generative techniques for the fabrication of products.
Rapid Micro Product Development: A method for the fast development and series production of microparts, microstructured parts or Microsystems.
Computer Aided Design, the design of, e.g. microfluidic structures or Microsystems is done on a computer.
Electronic Design Automation, a subset of CAD
Packaging and Assembly
Processes of enclosing chips and other microelectronic components in a structure that facilitates connections to the larger subsystem, often used in relation to a microelectronics chip where the structure is plastic or ceramic and the connection is through a set of pins that are usually soldered to a printed circuit board. More generally, the package is designed to match the particular technology used for the chip
Chip Size Package: single-die, direct surface mountable package with an area of no more than 1.2 X the original die area (IPC/JEDEC J-STD-012)
System-in-Package, chips, passive or other active components are integrated in one package.
Three-dimensional Chip Size Packaging: microTEC’s method to integrate micro-mechanic, microfluidic, micro-optic or micro-electronics in smallest space, cost efficient, batch oriented
High Aspect Ratio
Ratio of structure height and structure width. RMPD technology is famous in achieving very high aspect ratio structures (e.g., 300 depending on geometry)
Study of fluid flow in channels of 100 microns or less in dimension.
A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a microfluidics microsystem that allows minute volumes of liquids or gases to be pumped along a channel for quick and easy testing. These miniature labs can perform tasks such as DNA analyses or the separation of human blood cells.
Collective term for modern molecular diagnostics, which enables the high throughput analysis of a couple of thousand single substances in parallel, based on a very small amount of biological sample material
Applications, where sensor functions are integrated inside a microsystem.
Applications, where actuator functions are integrated inside a microsystem.
Applications, where mechanical functions like valves are integrated inside a microsystem.
For the generation of plastic parts by photopolymerization the liquid polymer is cured through a lithography mask. Mask sizes up to 14 inch are currently available.
Microstructures are built directly on foils or wafers
Special Step to generate surface qualities in the sub-nanometer range
Volume specific material properties
The production of microparts, microstructures and microsystems is done by a batch process, i.e. all parts which fit onto a certain mask size are being built in parallel. Some 100.000 microparts can, e.g., be built in parallel, depending on the design.
“Surface acoustic wave” sensor A sensor’s resonance behaviour of a generated surface acoustic wave is changed, when the mass at the measurement point changes. This is the case, if the substance to be detected interacts with and sticks to the properly prepared sensor surface. An example is the detection of biological or chemical parameters during a flow measurement.
Micro-Electro-Mechanical System: The integration of optical and mechanical structures (moving parts) with microelectronics.
Further processing steps, e.g., packaging, are being done at wafer level, i.e., the wafer is being processed before dicing.
Wafer to Wafer
Two wafers are bonded together and further processed together
Through Silicon Wafer: A technology to vertically interconnect chips at wafer level. The chips are electrically interconnected through the Wafer, in a batch oriented way. Not suitable for heterogeneous systems, as typical for SiPs.