METHODS FOR FORMING METAL-POLYMER HYBRID TOOLING FOR FORMING PARTS HAVING MICRO FEATURES

• Main Authors: YOON SUNG-HWAN, BUSNAINA AHMED A, BARRY CAROL M.F, MEAD JOEY L, CHA NAM-GOO
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 26.05.2011
• Subjects: AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MICROSTRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGY; NANOTECHNOLOGY; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES,e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTORDEVICES; PHYSICS; PROCESSES OR APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE MANUFACTUREOR TREATMENT OF MICROSTRUCTURAL DEVICES OR SYSTEMS; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; SHAPING CLAY OR OTHER CERAMIC COMPOSITIONS, SLAG, OR MIXTURESCONTAINING CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL, e.g. PLASTER; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; TRANSPORTING; WORKING CEMENT, CLAY, OR STONE; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL

A method for forming metal-polymer hybrid tooling includes patterning a surface of a member such as a silicon wafer, stainless steel, nickel or nickel alloy, engaging a polymer layer with the patterned features of the surface of the silicon wafer to form the polymer layer having a reverse of the patterned surface the silicon wafer, removing the patterned polymer layer to expose a patterned polymer layer surface, depositing a metallic layer on the patterned polymer layer surface, and wherein the deposited metallic layer on the patterned polymer layer is operable to form parts with features having a width dimension between about 0.01 microns and about 100 microns and a height dimension of between about 0.01 micron and about 800 microns (e.g., up to aspect ratio of 8).