Methods of reducing interlayer discontinuities in electrochemically fabricated three-dimensional structures
First Claim
1. A method for electrochemically forming a three-dimensional structure from a plurality of adhered layers, comprising:
- providing a substrate;
forming a layer comprising a structural material and a sacrificial material, wherein at least one of the structural material or sacrificial material is electrodeposited on to the substrate;
forming subsequent layers adhered to previously formed layers wherein either the quantization of layers results in unintended interlayer discontinuities or build processes result in offset features or non-vertical sidewall features; and
wherein prior to completing formation of all layers or after completing formation of all layers, performing at least one operation, comprising an etching operation, that results in reduction of quantization based interlayer discontinuities, offset features, or non-vertical sidewall features.
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Abstract
Disclosed methods reduce the discontinuities between individual layers of a structure that are formed at least in part using electrochemical fabrication techniques. Discontinuities may exist between layers of a structure as a result of up-facing or down-facing regions defined in data descriptive of the structure or they may exist as a result of building limitations, e.g., limitations that result in non-parallel orientation between a building axis and sidewall surfaces of layers. Methods for reducing discontinuities may be applied to all regions or only to selected regions of the structure. Methods may be tailored to improve the accuracy between an original design of the structure and the structure as fabricated or they may simply be used to smooth the discontinuities between layers. Methods may include deposition operations that selectively favor filling of the discontinuities and/or etching operations that selectively favor removal of material from protrusions that define discontinuities.
24 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for electrochemically forming a three-dimensional structure from a plurality of adhered layers, comprising:
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providing a substrate; forming a layer comprising a structural material and a sacrificial material, wherein at least one of the structural material or sacrificial material is electrodeposited on to the substrate; forming subsequent layers adhered to previously formed layers wherein either the quantization of layers results in unintended interlayer discontinuities or build processes result in offset features or non-vertical sidewall features; and wherein prior to completing formation of all layers or after completing formation of all layers, performing at least one operation, comprising an etching operation, that results in reduction of quantization based interlayer discontinuities, offset features, or non-vertical sidewall features. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for electrochemically forming a three-dimensional structure, comprising:
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providing a substrate; forming a layer comprising a structural material and a sacrificial material, wherein at least one of the structural material or sacrificial material is electrodeposited on to the substrate; forming subsequent layers adhered to previously formed layers wherein either the quantization of layers results in unintended interlayer discontinuities or build processes result in offset features or non-vertical sidewall features; and wherein prior to completing formation of all layers or after completing formation of all layers, performing at least one operation, comprising a deposition operation, that results in the reduction of quantization based interlayer discontinuities, offset features, or non-vertical sidewall features. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for electrochemically forming a three-dimensional structure from a plurality of adhered layers, comprising:
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providing a substrate; forming a layer comprising a structural material and a sacrificial material, wherein at least one of the structural material or sacrificial material is electrodeposited on to the substrate; forming subsequent layers adhered to previously formed layers wherein either the quantization of layers results in unintended interlayer discontinuities or build processes result in offset features or non-vertical sidewall features; and wherein prior to completing formation of all layers or after completing formation of all layers, performing at least two operations, comprising an etching operation and a deposition operation, that result in reduction of quantization based interlayer discontinuities, offset features, or non-vertical sidewall features. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification