3D Printed MEMS Technology—Recent Developments and Applications

Abstract

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are of high interest for recent electronic applications. Their applications range from medicine to measurement technology, from microfluidics to the Internet of Things (IoT). In many cases, MEMS elements serve as sensors or actuators, e.g., in recent mobile phones, but also in future autonomously driving cars. Most MEMS elements are based on silicon, which is not deformed plastically under a load, as opposed to metals. While highly sophisticated solutions were already found for diverse MEMS sensors, actuators, and other elements, MEMS fabrication is less standardized than pure microelectronics, which sometimes blocks new ideas. One of the possibilities to overcome this problem may be the 3D printing approach. While most 3D printing technologies do not offer sufficient resolution for MEMS production, and many of the common 3D printing materials cannot be used for this application, there are still niches in which the 3D printing of MEMS enables producing new structures and thus creating elements for new applications, or the faster and less expensive production of common systems. Here, we give an overview of the most recent developments and applications in 3D printing of MEMS.

Synthesis of Printable Polyvinyl Alcohol for Aerosol Jet and Inkjet Printing Technology

“…The analysis of surface tension and contact angle is carried out to present the degree of hydrophilicity before and after the plasma cleaning process, which ultimately helped us decide hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity and the wettability of the printable PVA solution. The literature found that the surface tension in the range of (25–75) mN/m is adequate to achieve a good liquid tension toward the surface [ 40 ]. Through experimentation the surface tension is found to be between 30 mN/m to 50 mN/m for both the substrates.…”

“…Additionally, the MEMS fabrication process is less standardized than other microelectronics fabrication processes. 3D printed MEMS is a potential candidate among researchers for a selection of less expensive materials and producing new structures for future applications [ 40 ]. However, it may be difficult to achieve sufficient resolution only with this technology compared to traditional MEMS fabrication technology [ 36 , 37 , 41 ].…”

The Influence of Printing Orientation on Surface Texture Parameters in Powder Bed Fusion Technology with 316L Steel

“…MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) is a potential application of 3D printing technology using metal-based materials [ 37 , 38 , 39 ]. In this application, models produced with 3D printing technologies, from both metal-based materials and plastics, must be characterized by appropriate surface quality and dimensional accuracy.…”

“…The parameters of the surface layer obtained by additive technologies are largely influenced by technological parameters (e.g., grain size, layer thickness, printing direction, temperature, laser power, laser speed, cooling time) and the resolution of selected machines/3D printers. In the paper [ 37 ], the authors presented the possibilities of using 3D printing technology and selected machines for building MEMS models. The article mainly analyzes materials based on plastics and describes the disadvantages and advantages of currently used machines/printers in the context of the use of 3D printing to build MEMS models.…”

The influence of thermal after-treatment on the adhesion of 3D prints on textile fabrics

“…While 3D printing was originally mostly used for rapid prototyping, nowadays these techniques are more and more often used for preparing real objects with real applications. While some of these applications, such as 3D printing of microfluidics of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), mostly strive for high resolution and accuracy [1], other applications necessitate especially good mechanical properties [2][3][4].…”