Open AccessInkjet printed SU‐8 hemispherical microcapsules and silicon chip embedding
Author(s) -
JacotDescombes Loïc,
Gullo Maurizio Rosario,
Mastrangeli Massimo,
Cadarso Victor Javier,
Brugger Jürgen
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
micro and nano letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.25
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1750-0443
DOI - 10.1049/mnl.2013.0241
Subject(s) - fabrication , materials science , nanotechnology , wafer , inkwell , silicon , lithography , microfluidics , microsystem , surface tension , drop (telecommunication) , planar , optoelectronics , composite material , computer science , medicine , telecommunications , alternative medicine , physics , computer graphics (images) , pathology , quantum mechanics
Planar lithography techniques are not effective for precise fabrication of microdevices with hemispherical shapes. Drop‐on‐demand (DOD) inkjet printing (IJP) of photo‐curable ink is a more appropriate fabrication approach as it takes advantage of the surface tension as well as of the delivery of a well‐defined ink volume. Described is a DOD IJP technique onto geometrically‐patterned silicon substrates enabling the controlled fabrication of SU‐8 hemispherical microcapsules. Open half capsules of 100 µm in diameter with inner cavity volumes of 5, 20 and 45 pl with a printing yield above 96% are demonstrated. The same technique is directly adapted to the fabrication of microcapsules embedding silicon microchips. The reported findings open new paths for controlled encapsulation of liquids into smart microsystems.