What is it about?
We employed direct laser writing to directly 3D print a micro accelerometer (as large as the diameter of a human hair) which we could then address and characterized. This was possible thanks to a smart self-shadowing design, which made it conductive but avoided short circuits across the different parts of the device.
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Photo by Emily Reimer on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Compared to other fabrication techniques employed to make MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS), 3D microprinting via direct laser writing allows an extremely efficient prototyping stage, as cheap materials are employed and one can change the design rapidly and without disrupting the whole printing step. In addition, it permits the realization of full-3D designs of arbitrary complexity rather than being limited to the 2(.5)D of standard lithographic approaches employed in MEMS fabrication today.
Perspectives
Showing that it is possible to print a working MEMS via 3D microprinting and make it addressable with electrical contacts is a very important step in the world of microdevices, as it opens a lot of possibilities that could only have been imagined before.
Dr Marco Carlotti
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Two-step MEMS microfabrication via 3D direct laser lithography, March 2021, SPIE,
DOI: 10.1117/12.2579213.
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