Ink-Jet as a MEMS Manufacturing Tool

In the last decade, ink-jet has come to be viewed as a precision microdispensing tool, in addition to its huge success in color printing. Today, this tool is being used in a wide range of applications, including electrical & optical interconnects, sensors, medical diagnostics, drug delivery, MEMS packaging, and nanostructure materials deposition. Ink-jet microdispensing is data-driven, non-contact, and is capable of precise deposition of picoliter volumes at high rates, even onto non-planar surfaces. Being data-driven, ink-jet dispensing is highly flexible and can be readily automated into manufacturing lines. This paper will illustrate a few of the applications of ink-jet technology that are either MEMS manufacturing applications, or relevant to potential MEMS manufacturing applications.