High-resolution additive manufacturing for 3D multifunctional microelectronic devices

To meet future demands for microelectronic devices – dimensional, environmental, functional – new fabrication technologies are sought after. Manufacturing technologies that minimise the footprint of such devices while concurrently integrating electronics with microfluidics and other functionalities. This is made possible by printing electronics at high resolution and incorporating and interconnecting bare die chips. At Holst Centre, we have been developing a new multi-material additive manufacturing technology to meet the demands stated before. “3D Additive Lithography for Electronics” combines high-resolution direct imaging lithography with groove filling of conductive metal pastes to build structural electronics with down to 10 µm feature sizes. The structural material, a photopolymerisable resin, is patterned using a DMD-based light engine that scans over the build area. A custom-built foil recoating solution provides fresh resin to the build area as the printing progresses, and industry-standard metal pastes are used to interconnect incorporated functional components in the 100 µm to 1 mm size range.