Materials for LIGA products

Abstract

The LIGA process which is based on a combination of deep lithography and replication processes, allows one to generate three dimensional microstructures from metals, polymers, glasses and ceramic materials. Accordingly, application specific materials can be chosen for a wide variety of LIGA microdevices to be utilized for example in information and communication technology, chemical engineering, automation and robotics, environmental engineering and medical technology. Standard materials are various thermoplastic polymers, casting resins, ceramic powders for slurry casting and metals or metal alloys which can be electrodeposited from aqueous electrolytes. Recent development deals with new highly sensitive resists with chemical amplification for deep X-ray lithography, ceramic microstructures generated on the basis of preceramic polymers, and metals like aluminium which can be electrodeposited from nonaqueous electrolytes. Polymers with adjustable index of refraction or non-linear optical properties, biocompatible materials, soft and hard magnetic materials, amorphous metal alloys, high temperature and piezoelectric ceramics and many other materials are typical examples for application specific materials available for the LIGA process.