Printing MEMS: Application of Inkjet Techniques to the Manufacturing of Inertial Accelerometers

Printing MEMS: Application of Inkjet Techniques to the Manufacturing of Inertial Accelerometers

In the last few years, the manufacturing of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) by means of innovative tridimensional and bidimensional printing technologies has significantly catalyzed the attention of researchers. Inkjet material deposition, in particular, can become a key enabling technology fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Micromachines (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 11; p. 2082
Main Authors: Bernasconi, Roberto, Invernizzi, Gabriele Pietro, Gallo Stampino, Elisa, Gotti, Riccardo, Gatti, Davide, Magagnin, Luca
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-11-2023
Subjects:
accelerometer
Accelerometers
Adhesives
Crosslinking
Deposition
Inertial sensing devices
Inkjet printing
Manufacturing
MEMS
Methods
Microelectromechanical systems
Microscopy
Morphology
Printing
Semiconductor industry
Sensitivity
Sensors
SU-8
Temperature
Germany
Italy
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Summary:In the last few years, the manufacturing of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) by means of innovative tridimensional and bidimensional printing technologies has significantly catalyzed the attention of researchers. Inkjet material deposition, in particular, can become a key enabling technology for the production of polymer-based inertial sensors characterized by low cost, high manufacturing scalability and superior sensitivity. In this paper, a fully inkjet-printed polymeric accelerometer is proposed, and its manufacturing steps are described. The manufacturing challenges connected with the inkjet deposition of SU-8 as a structural material are identified and addressed, resulting in the production of a functional spring-mass sensor. A step-crosslinking process allows optimization of the final shape of the device and limits defects typical of inkjet printing. The resulting device is characterized from a morphological point of view, and its functionality is assessed in performing optical readout. The acceleration range of the optimized device is 0–0.7 g, its resolution is 2 × 10−3 g and its sensitivity is 6745 nm/g. In general, the work demonstrates the feasibility of polymeric accelerometer production via inkjet printing, and these characteristic parameters demonstrate their potential applicability in a broad range of uses requiring highly accurate acceleration measurements over small displacements.
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ISSN:2072-666X
2072-666X
DOI:10.3390/mi14112082