UV-LIGA: From Development to Commercialization

A major breakthrough in UV-LIGA (Lithographie, Galvanoformung and Abformung) started with the use of epoxy-based EPON® SU-8 photoresist in the mid-1990s. Using this photoresist has enabled the fabrication of tall and high aspect ratio structures without the use of a very expensive synchrotron source...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMicromachines (Basel) Vol. 5; no. 3; pp. 486 - 495
Main Authors Genolet, Grégoire, Lorenz, Hubert
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published MDPI AG 01.09.2014
Subjects
CLR-LIGA (covert laser readable-LIGA)
high aspect ratio
micro-components
SU-8
thick photoresist
UV-LIGA
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Summary:A major breakthrough in UV-LIGA (Lithographie, Galvanoformung and Abformung) started with the use of epoxy-based EPON® SU-8 photoresist in the mid-1990s. Using this photoresist has enabled the fabrication of tall and high aspect ratio structures without the use of a very expensive synchrotron source needed to expose the photoresist layer in X-ray LIGA. SU-8 photoresist appeared to be well-suited for LIGA templates, but also as a permanent material. Based on UV-LIGA and SU-8, Mimotec SA has developed processes to manufacture mold inserts and metallic components for various market fields. From one to three-level parts, from Ni to other materials, from simple to complicated parts with integrated functionalities, UV-LIGA has established itself as a manufacturing technology of importance for prototyping, as well as for mass-fabrication. This paper reviews some of the developments that led to commercial success in this field.
ISSN:2072-666X
2072-666X
DOI:10.3390/mi5030486