Microstructuring

Arrangement of several pixel filter areas on a glass substrate.
© Fraunhofer IST, Falko Oldenburg
Arrangement of several pixel filter areas on a glass substrate.

Photoresist processing and photolithography

Our experts at the Fraunhofer IST have acquired extensive expertise in microstructuring; for this, they apply a wide range of structuring processes and techniques in their dedicated clean room. For the production of high-precision structures directly onto tool and component surfaces as well as wafers or glass substrates, classical photolithographic processes with etching technology and lift-off are utilized. Through optimal resist selection, the deployment of various resist coating techniques and the utilization of differing exposure processes, we are able to realize a broad spectrum of structure sizes and designs.

 

Surface structuring via laser technology

For many years, laser structuring has been successfully applied for the further functionalization of surfaces and thin films. In this process, a nanosecond laser system can be used to either inscribe the structures directly into substrates of virtually all material classes, or laser direct exposure is used in combination with photolithographic processes. Our extensive experience in this field allows us to combine different processes for surface structuring, enabling even curved surfaces to be structured.

Selected reference projects

 

Reference project

Structured CVD diamond micro-grinding pencils

 

Reference project

Development of a sensory kingpin