This paper presents a non-contact, convenient, efficient cutting tool wear monitoring technique of dicing wheel based on a knife-edge diffraction interferometry. Dicing is a standard technology for fabricating components of micro-electromechanical systems, and the wear of dicing wheels may influence the components’ quality with respect to cutting-surface quality and subsurface damage. Based on the edge diffraction principle that utilizes interference of transmitted wave and a diffracted wave at the wheel end, the diffraction patterns according to dicing wheel conditions were scanned, and cross-correlation was used to extract attrition and abrasive wear from the measured diffraction patterns. Attrition and abrasive wear were related with lag and similarity coefficients of cross-correlation, respectively. This measurement technique can be used for in-process monitoring of wheel conditions or wheel radius compensation and can be included in dicing parameter optimization process.

This paper presents graphene growth on Pt deposited on four different adhesion layers such as Ti, Cr, Ta, and Ni. During the graphene growth at 1000 °C using conventional Chemical Vapor Deposition method, these adhesion layers diffuse into and alloy with Pt layer resulting graphene to grow on different alloys. Therefore, Pt layer on different adhesion layers induces different quality and number of layer(s) of graphene grown on the film. Monolayer graphene was produced on majority of metal layers except on Pt/Ta layer where bilayer graphene is observed. The lowest defects were found on graphene grown on Pt/Ni film where slightly higher number of wrinkles are observed compared to other alloys. We characterized graphene using SEM images of transferred graphene, of Pt grains after the growth of graphene, and of in-depth profiles of thin film via TOF-SIMS. Our paper states feasibility of graphene growth on Pt thin film on various adhesion layers and obstacles to overcome to enhance graphene transfer from Pt thin film. We address one of the major difficulties of graphene growth and transfer to implement graphene in NEMS/MEMS devices.

One of the major challenges in nanoscale manufacturing is defect control because it is difficult to measure nanoscale features in-line with the manufacturing process. Optical inspection typically is not an option at the nanoscale level due to the diffraction limit of light, and without inspection high scrap rates can occur. Therefore, this paper presents an atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based inspection system that can be rapidly implemented in-line with other nanomanufacturing processes. Atomic force microscopy is capable of producing very high resolution (sub-nm-scale) surface topology measurements and is widely utilized in scientific and industrial applications, but has not been implemented in-line with manufacturing systems, primarily because of the large setup time typically required to take an AFM measurement. In order to overcome this limitation, we have developed a single-chip-AFM-based inspection system where a wafer can be precisely and repeatably loaded into the setup and measurements can be taken in under 60 seconds. This inspection system consists of several single-chip AFMs integrated into a positioning stage to make measurements at multiple spots on a wafer at the same time. Each single-chip AFM is a MEMS device that is approximately 2 mm wide by 1 mm tall and is capable of scanning a 10 micron by 10 micron area. Thermal actuators in the MEMS device are used to do the scanning in both the x and y directions as well as to excite the z axis of the AFM so that it can be run in taping mode. Each AFM is attached to a flexure stage in the top plate of the inspection system so that the AFM can be precisely moved to the desired inspection location on the wafer. The flexure plate is coupled to the inspection plate using a kinematic coupling so that the flexure plate can be precisely located with respect to the inspection plate after each loading operation. In order to take a measurement, the flexure plate is removed from the inspection plate, a wafer is loaded into the inspection plate using an exactly constrained, passive alignment system, and the flexure plate is then placed back onto the inspection plate. This brings the AFMs back into contact with the surface that is to be measured and the AFMs can then start taking measurements without any additional alignment operations. The overall measurement procedure takes less than one minute, which is faster than most nanomanufacturing processes. This guarantees that the inspection step will not be the bottleneck in the manufacturing process.

Machining of hard and brittle materials such as ceramics and semiconductors has been a challenge for many years. They have many applications in optics, MEMS and electronic industries due to their many desirable properties, such as being light weight, strong, and hard. Achieving good surface finish, avoiding surface and subsurface damage and at the same time achieving a high material removal rate are extremely challenging for these materials. Materials such as single crystal silicon and sapphire have a crystal orientation or anisotropy effect which makes their machining even more difficult. Because of this characteristic, their behavior is directional and they have different fracture toughness for each direction. In past works in our research group, it has been demonstrated that machining of brittle materials in ductile regime is possible due to the high pressure phase transformation (HPPT) occurring in the material caused by the high compressive and shear stresses induced by a single point diamond tool tip. In the current study scratch tests were performed on the monocrystal sapphire in four different perpendicular directions and to further augment the process, traditional cutting is coupled with a laser to heat and soften the material to either enhance the ductility, resulting in a deeper cut, or reducing brittleness leading to decreased fracture damage. Results of scratch tests, with and without laser heating, for different cutting loads have been compared. The effect of laser heating was studied by analyzing the image of cuts and verifying the depth of cuts which were made using varying laser power during the process. Microscopic images and three-dimensional profiles of the cuts taken by using a white light interferometer were investigated.

One of the major challenges in producing highly accurate graphene-based nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) resonators is the poor fabrication repeatability of graphene-based NEMS devices due to small variations in the residual stress and initial tension of the graphene film. This has meant that graphene-based nanoelectromechanical resonators tend to have large variations in natural frequency and quality factor from device to device. This poor repeatability makes it impossible to use these resonators to make accurate, high-precision force and displacement sensors or electromechanical filters. However, by actively controlling the tension on the graphene resonator it is possible both to increase repeatability between devices and to increase the force/mass sensitivity of the nanoelectromechanical resonators produced. Such tension control makes it possible to produce electrometrical filters that can be precisely tuned over a frequency range of up to several orders-of-magnitude. In order to controllably strain the graphene resonator, a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) is be used to apply tension to the graphene. The MEMS device consists of a graphene resonator connected between a set of gold electrodes. Each gold electrode is located on a different MEMS stage. Each stage is connected to a set of flexural bearings which are used to guide the motion of the stage. The displacement stage is actuated using a thermal actuator that allows a uniform and constant tension to be applied to the graphene resonator. The displacement of the actuator and the tension applied to the graphene are measured using a pair of differential capacitive actuators. The resonator is actuated electrostatically using the electrical back gate, and the resonant frequency is measured from the change in conductance of the graphene as it approaches resonance. Using this setup, it is possible to tune the natural frequency of the graphene resonator with high precision and accuracy. In addition to designing devices that can compensate for manufacturing errors in nanomanufactured devices, this paper will present several methods that can greatly expand the scope and rate at which nanomaterials-based devices can be fabricated. For example, this paper will present a transfer-free, wafer-scale manufacturing process that can be used to produce suspended graphene-based devices such as the graphene-based NEMS resonators. This new method involves the growth of graphene directly on the device wafer and release of the graphene-based device through etching of the copper catalyst layer. This method replaces traditional graphene fabrication methods, such as mechanical exfoliation, electron beam lithography, or transfer from copper foils, which are slow and require a transfer step that is the source of much of inconsistency in suspended graphene-based devices. Therefore, these new transfer-free, wafer-scale fabrication methods offer the potential to increase the throughput, yield, and repeatability of manufacturing processes for graphene resonators while reducing manufacturing costs and complexity.

The continuous trend towards miniaturization of metallic micro parts of high quality at low costs results in the need of appropriate production methods. Mechanical manufacturing processes like forming and blanking meet these demands. One major challenge for the application of them are so called size effects. Especially the downsizing of the required manufacturing tools and adequate positioning causes higher effort with increasing miniaturization. One promising approach for downsizing of tools is the transfer of knowledge from microsystems technology. This study shows the process behavior of etched silicon punches in microblanking operations. For the application as tool material especially the brittle material behavior and sensitivity against tensile stresses have to be considered. These mechanical loads favor wear in form of cracks and breaks at the cutting edge of the punch and decrease tool life. In a special test rig these wear phenomena were observed in microblanking of copper foils. Although high positioning accuracy between tools and workpiece can be assured within this test rig, scatter of tool life is observable. Therefore, a finite element analysis of the tool load in the microblanking process with special respect to tensile stresses was performed. Within the 3D finite element model multidimensional positioning errors like tilting between punch and die were integrated. Their influence on the tool load in form of increasing tensile stresses is evaluated with respect to the type and magnitude of positioning error. Furthermore, the effects of small outbreaks at the cutting edge on the process behavior and tool load are analyzed.

The tube hydroforming (THF) process is a metal forming process that uses a pressurized fluid as the forming mechanism. Recently, this process has increased in popularity in the automotive industry as a method to reduce the number of required components and consolidate parts which can substantially reduce the overall automobile weight. This reduction in weight is a currently pursued method for improving the vehicles fuel economy. At the micro scale, hydroformed tubes have the potential to offer additional benefits with possible uses in medical and MEMS (Microelectromechanical systems) applications. However, this can be a challenge when the forming materials have small mating features. In many macro scale tube hydroforming processes the forming fluid is supplied to the tubes by a tapered filling nozzle inserted inside the inner diameter of the tubes. When considering forming tubes with sub-millimeter features, this poses a significant challenge. This paper explores the design of a new method for creating the required high pressure seal. Specifically, this seal is made on the outside surface of the tube by using a flexible encompassing rubber gasket and two proprietary designed seal cavities. In this study, stainless steel 304 micro tubes of varying outer diameters (1.0 mm and 2.1 mm) and thickness were tested.

The scanning probe microscope (SPM), in particular the atomic force microscope (AFM), is widely used as a metrology tool at the nanoscale. Recently, the instrument has shown tremendous potential to perform various nanoscale fabrication processes (e.g. nanolithography, atomic deposition, nanomachining, etc.) with high resolution (< 10 nm). However, use of SPMs for fabrication have a low throughput and require frequent manual replacement of the SPM tips due to damage or wear. Manual switching of tips for multiple operations, is relatively time consuming. Thus these issues hinder the throughput, quality, reliability, and scalability of SPM as a practical tool for nanofabrication. To address these issues, this paper presents the design, analysis, and fabrication of a novel nano tool-tip exchanger that automatically loads and unloads SPM tool-tips. The ability to provide fully automated on-demand tool-tip exchange would enable SPM as a scalable tool for nanomanufacturing. In this work, an active SPM cantilever is designed with an electrothermally actuated microgripper capable of locating, loading, and unloading tool-tips automatically. The microgripper has been designed to provide adequate range of actuation, gripping force, stiffness, and dynamic response required for securely holding the tool-tip and for functioning within existing SPM-based systems. The design has been validated by finite element analysis. Experiments have been conducted to establish the micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication processes for successful fabrication of the prototype.

A magnetic field-assisted finishing (MAF) process has been developed to reduce the sidewall surface roughness of the 5–20 μ m wide curvilinear pores of microelectromechanical systems micropore X-ray optics. Although the feasibility of this process has been demonstrated on these optics, a clear understanding of the MAF process material removal mechanisms has not been attained. To discover these mechanisms, the MAF process is applied to a flat workpiece, allowing for direct observation and tracking of changes to distinctive surface features before and after MAF. Atomic force microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy are used to analyze the surface morphology and composition with respect to polishing time. These observations suggest that the MAF process removes surface material, improving surface roughness (to 0.1 nm Rq on silicon) without significantly changing the shape of existing surface features. Moreover, the MAF process appears to remove material by mechanical means.

An alternating magnetic field assisted finishing (MAF) technique has been developed to finish the 5–20 μ m wide pore sidewalls of micro-pore X-ray focusing optics fabricated using micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) techniques. To understand the material removal mechanism, this MAF technique is used to finish a silicon MEMS micro-pore X-ray optic that had previously undergone a hydrogen annealing treatment. Compared to the unfinished surface, distinctive surface features are observed on the finished surfaces using scanning electron microscopy, optical profilometry, and atomic force microscopy. This demonstrates the finishing characteristics and reveals the material removal mechanism on the nanometer scale. Moreover, the representative unfinished and finished micro-pore sidewall surfaces show a reduction in roughness due to finishing from 1.72 to 0.18 nm Rq .

Advanced ceramics, such as Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Quartz, are increasingly being used for industrial applications. These ceramics are hard, strong, inert, and light weight. This combination of properties makes them ideal candidates for tribological, semiconductor, MEMS and optoelectronic applications respectively. Manufacturing these materials without causing surface and subsurface damage is extremely challenging due to their high hardness, brittle characteristics and poor machinability. Often times, severe fracture can result when trying to achieve high material removal rates during machining of SiC or quartz due to their low fracture toughness. This research demonstrates that ductile regime Single Point Diamond Turning (SPDT) is possible on these materials to improve its surface quality without imparting subsurface damage. Machining parameters, such as depth of cut and feed, used to carry out ductile regime machining will be discussed. Subsurface damage analysis was carried out on the machined samples using non-destructive methods such as Optical Microscopy, Raman Spectroscopy and Scanning Acoustic Microscopy to show evidence that the chosen material removal method leaves a damage-free surface and subsurface. Optical microscopy was used to image the improvements in surface finish whereas Raman spectroscopy and scanning acoustic microscopy was used to observe the formation of amorphous layer and subsurface imaging in the machined regions. All three techniques complement the initial hypothesis of being able to remove a nominally brittle material in the ductile regime.

The importance of mechatronics is evidenced by the myriad smart products that we take for granted in our daily lives, from the wall climbing robots to advanced flight control systems and multifunctional precision machines. The multidisciplinary mechatronic field offers optimum solutions to a multivariable problem. The technological advances in digital engineering, simulation and modeling, electromechanical motion devices, power electronics, computers and informatics, MEMS, microprocessors and DSPs have brought new challenges to industry and academia. Modeling, simulation, analysis, virtual prototyping and visualization are critical aspects of developing advanced mechatronic products. Competing in a global market requires the adaptation of modern technology to yield flexible, multifunctional products that are better, cheaper and intelligent. This presentation will examine recent advances of mechatronics in smart manufacturing and will examine (a) Development and implementation of original and innovative mechatronic systems, (b) Additional modifications and improvements to conventional designs by using a mechatronics approach.

The rationales for the use of microsystems are numerous, including the reduction of consumables (less chemicals in Lab-on-a-Chip), a faster response time (airbag sensors), the enhanced portability (RF-MEMS), the higher resolution (Inkjet printer head), and the higher efficiency (micro-chemical reactor); moreover their application sectors are numerous. For this reason, during the past decades many improvements have been done concerning the design and manufacturing of microsystems and several products have been fabricated for a great variety of applications in the traditional fields, including the medical and biomedical sectors (e.g.: pacemakers, analysis equipments, microtweezers for minimally invasive surgery, micro drug delivery systems), automotive (sensors for safety in cars e.g. electrostatic field sensors for controlling airbags), aeronautics and aerospace (lightweight distributed sensors for micro crack detection), IT (ink jet printers, reading caps for hard disk, micropumps for microprocessor cooling) and telecommunication (e.g. micro optical switches) as well as in more innovative areas, such as household appliances, entertainment and sport equipment (noise canceller ear plugs, variable stiffness tennis racket, skis equipped with piezoelectric active dampers). Nevertheless microproducts have still great difficulty in penetrating the market, mainly due to the limits of the fabrication processes. Indeed, the two main approaches, monolithic and hybrid, show both many issues to overcome. On one side, the monolithic approach has the consolidate expertise of lithographic processes for the manufacturing of electronic devices on one hand, but on the other hand it has the difficulty in producing three dimensional microdevices with good mechanical properties. On the other side, the hybrid approach is suitable for the fabrication of three dimensional microscopic structures but often fails in assembling processes (12). In order to overcome these issues, new materials have often been studied at microscale to extend the manipulation principles of macroproducts to microsystems (e.g. SMA microgripper (1)), but the techniques imported from the assembly of macro components are, usually, not adaptable for microcomponents, which are subject to very strong superficial forces (3). Therefore new techniques for the manipulation of microcomponents, based on innovative principles, have been conceived and have to be further developed. In this paper the use of new materials in combination with a new handling principle has been proposed and the preliminary results concerning the study of the electrostrictive behavior of a dielectric polymeric smart material, which is promising for the assembly of microcomponents, has been presented.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is one of the advanced engineered ceramics materials designed to operate in extreme environments. One of the main reasons for the choice of this material is due to its excellent electrical, mechanical and optical properties that benefit the semiconductor, MEMS and optoelectronic industry respectively. Manufacture of this material is extremely challenging due to its high hardness, brittle characteristics and poor machinability. Severe fracture can result when trying to machine SiC due to its low fracture toughness. However, from past experience it has been proven that ductile regime machining of silicon carbide is possible. The main goal of the subject research is to improve the surface quality of a chemically vapor deposited (CVD) polycrystalline SiC material to be used in an optics device such as a mirror. Besides improving the surface roughness of the material, the research also emphasized increasing the material removal rate (MRR) and minimizing the diamond tool wear. The surface quality was improved using a Single Point Diamond Turning (SPDT) machining operation from 1158nm to 88nm (Ra) and from 8.49μm to 0.53μm (Rz; peak-to-valley).

The development of functional and reliable miniaturized devices including Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) has stressed the manufacturing and packaging processes. The traditional micro fabrication techniques, such as lithography, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and etching, are layer-by-layer processes and mostly suitable for thin-filmed devices. LIGA (an acronym from German words for lithography, electroplating, and molding) is a newly developed process for thick metallic devices; however, it involves electroplating process and high quality molds, which are hard to move after electroforming. In all the processes mentioned above, masks and photoresist processing are inevitable, which complicates the whole process and increases the processing time and the total cost. It is also well known that packaging is another barrier for the advancement of MEMS. MEMS packaging, which is required to provide mechanical support, environmental protection and electrical connection to other system components, is much more complicated as compared to electronic components due to the moving structures, fluids or chemicals involved. It is the most expensive process in micromachining. Therefore, enabling tools and technologies are greatly needed for the fabrication and packaging of complicated devices and highly integrated micro assemblies. In this paper, we will present novel direct-print dispensing techniques and robust tools for 21 st century manufacturing and packaging. Comparing to other dispensing technologies such as time-pressure needle dispensing, screen printing, pin transfer and jetting, nScrypt’s pumping techniques can dispense materials with precise volume control for 10’s of Pico liter resolution, accurate placement or alignment within a few microns, conformably print on exaggerated surfaces of 10’s of centimeters, and are extremely flexible with materials and patterns. The dispensing tip (nozzle) is optimized to reduce the pressure drop as compared to the traditional tubing needles. Comparing to traditional micro fabrication technologies, our direct-print dispensing technology is maskless and thus a cost effective process. While micro-dispensing is a solution based approach, it has the advantage of not being a wet process such as wet etching or electroplating. Direct-print dispensing of micro lines, micro dots, and three-dimensional structures will be presented. The technology has a wide range of applications in the manufacturing and packaging of micro/meso-scale devices and bio structures.

In this paper a feasibility study of a micromachined PQT-sensor for measurement of pressure (P), flow rate (Q), and temperature (T) for diagnostic applications in pneumatic systems is presented. As a low cost device this innovative PQT-sensor has to fulfill different kinds of criteria such as wide measuring range, fast response time, high resolution and high accuracy for diagnosing the health status of a pneumatic system. By using micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) technologies small high-performance sensors were fabricated which fulfill all these criteria. At first, principles will be described that have been chosen for measurement of pressure, flow and temperature that will be used for the PQT-sensor. A design proposal for the sensor will be presented and verified with analytical calculations to show its applicability.

There is a growing demand for industrial products with not only increased number of functions, but also of reduced dimensions, higher dimensional accuracy and better surface finish. Micro/nano-machining is the most promising technology for the production of such miniaturized parts and components. Components for MEMS are basically produced using processes from semiconductor technology which impels the fabrication process to be limited to a few semiconductor materials like silicon and their compounds, or requires expensive facilities. Hybrid micromachining processes that combine conventional and non-conventional micromachining have the capability to fabricate high-aspect ratio microstructures with paramount dimensional accuracy. In order to achieve meaningful implementation of micro/nano machining techniques, our research efforts seek to address three important areas; namely (a) development of machine tool capable of hybrid micromachining, (b) process control and (c) process development to achieve necessary accuracy and quality. An integrated effort in these areas has resulted in successful fabrication of micro structures that is able to meet the miniaturization demands of the industry. This paper presents a few tool-based approaches integrating micro-EDM, micro EDG, micro-turning and micro-grinding to produce miniature components. This paper also describes the features and aspects of miniaturized multi-process machine tool that provides the capability of hybrid micromachining.

Due to its smallness in size and economic-saving in batch fabrication, the acoustic micro sensor shows many potential applications in the field of manufacturing and machining monitoring system if it can help to pick up information of sound and vibration signals at specific range. In this paper, brief discussion for the design of the micro-sensor and its fabrication issue will be made. Fundamental frequency testing results by the piezo-electric shaker and acoustic measurement within the water tank are given. A 6-inch silicon wafer fabrication process and sensor design having resonant frequency in the range of 20k–60k Hz are presented and discussed. By selecting appropriate thickness of the structure layer on a SOI wafer, it is possible to customer-make a micro-sensor to sense within a given-range of interest and to apply it in a manufacturing monitoring system.

Traditional micromanufacturing has been developed for semiconductor industry. Selected micro electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) have been successfully developed and implemented in industry. Since current MEMS are designed for manufacture using microelectronics processes, they are limited to two-dimensional profiles and semiconductor based materials. Such shape and material constraints would exclude many applications that require biocompatibility, dynamic stress, and high ductility. New technologies are sought to fabricate three dimensional microcomponents using robust materials for demanding applications. To be cost effective, such microdevices must be economically mass producible. Molding is one of the promising replication techniques to mass produce components from polymers and polymer-based composites. This paper presents the development of a micromolding process to produce thermoplastic microcomponents. Mold design required precision fitting and was integrated with a vacuum pump to minimize air trap in mold cavities. Nickel and aluminum mold inserts were used for the study; their cavities were fabricated by combinations of available micromachining processes like laser micromachining, micromilling, micro electrical discharge machining, and focused ion beam sputtering. High and low density polyethylene, polystyrene polymers were used for this study. The effects of polymer molecular structures, molding temperature, time, and pressure on molding results were studied. Simulation of stress in the microcomponents, plastic flow in microchannels, and mold defects was performed and compare with experimental data. The research results showed that a microcomponent can be fabricated to the minimum size of 10 ± 1μm (0.0004 inch) with surface roughness <10 nm Rt. Molding of micro-size geartrains and orthopedic meso-size fasteners was completed to illustrate the capability of this process.

In this paper the attributes of powder injection molding that influence the ability to implant a material are evaluated. Specific emphasis is given to technology readiness of stainless steel, titanium and cobalt chromium alloys since these are the most common alloys that are both implantable and metal injection moldable. Issues such as ductility and strengthening are discussed. Also, component size capability of the technology is discussed since prosthetic replacement pushes the upper size limit of the technology and implantable micro devices that require MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems) scale features push the lower limit.