Formation of microstructures using a preformed photoresist sheet
First Claim
1. A method of forming microstructures comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a preformed sheet of photoresist material which can be exposed to radiation to affect its susceptibility to a developer;
(b) exposing the photoresist sheet in a pattern to radiation which will change its susceptibility to a developer;
(c) mechanically removing the material of the photoresist sheet to reduce the thickness of the sheet to a desired thickness; and
(d) applying a developer to the exposed photoresist to remove photoresist which is susceptible to the developer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In the formation of microstructures, a preformed sheet of photoresist, such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), which is strain free, may be milled down before or after adherence to a substrate to a desired thickness. The photoresist is patterned by exposure through a mask to radiation, such as X-rays, and developed using a developer to remove the photoresist material which has been rendered susceptible to the developer. Micrometal structures may be formed by electroplating metal into the areas from which the photoresist has been removed. The photoresist itself may form useful microstructures, and can be removed from the substrate by utilizing a release layer between the substrate and the preformed sheet which can be removed by a remover which does not affect the photoresist. Multiple layers of patterned photoresist can be built up to allow complex three dimensional microstructures to be formed.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. A method of forming microstructures comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a preformed sheet of photoresist material which can be exposed to radiation to affect its susceptibility to a developer; (b) exposing the photoresist sheet in a pattern to radiation which will change its susceptibility to a developer; (c) mechanically removing the material of the photoresist sheet to reduce the thickness of the sheet to a desired thickness; and (d) applying a developer to the exposed photoresist to remove photoresist which is susceptible to the developer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of forming microstructures comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a first preformed sheet of photoresist material which can be exposed to radiation to affect its susceptibility to a developer; (b) exposing the photoresist sheet to radiation in a pattern to which will change its susceptibility to a developer; (c) mechanically removing the material of the photoresist sheet to reduce the thickness of the sheet to a desired thickness constituting a first layer of photoresist; (d) providing a second preformed sheet of photoresist material which may be exposed to radiation to affect its susceptibility to a developer; (e) adhering the second photoresist sheet to the first layer of photoresist to form a laminate; (f) mechanically removing the material of the second photoresist sheet to reduce the thickness of the sheet to a desired thickness constituting a second layer of photoresist; (g) exposing the first and second layers of the photoresist to a pattern of radiation which will change the susceptibility of the photoresist of the second layer to a developer; and (h) removing the photoresist in the first and second layers which is susceptible to a developer using a developer for the photoresist. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of forming microstructures comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a first preformed sheet of photoresist material which can be exposed to radiation to affect it susceptibility to a developer; (b) exposing the first photoresist sheet to radiation in a pattern which will result in susceptibility of the photoresist to a developer partially but not entirely through the thickness of the photoresist sheet; (c) adhering the first photoresist sheet on the side which has photoresist which is susceptible to a developer to a layer of photoresist which has a pattern of areas therein which are susceptible to the developer, to form a laminate; (d) mechanically removing the material of the first preformed photoresist sheet to reduce the thickness of the sheet to expose the areas of the first preformed sheet which are susceptible to removal by the developer; and (e) applying a developer to the laminate to remove photoresist which is susceptible to the developer to leave a pattern of voids in the first photoresist sheet and the underlying photoresist layer. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of forming microstructures comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a first preformed sheet of PMMA photoresist material; (b) exposing the first photoresist sheet in a pattern to X-rays to render exposed areas of the photoresist sheet susceptible to a developer; (c) mechanically removing the material of the first photoresist sheet to reduce the thickness of the sheet to a desired thickness; and (d) applying a developer to the first photoresist sheet to remove the exposed photoresist which is susceptible to the developer. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification