Abrasive jet micromachining of novel features in polymers and glass

磨料射流微加工(AJM)利用一种小型高速空气射流将微小磨料颗粒加速朝向目标材料。通过用耐腐蚀掩模对目标表面进行图案化，可以在其中机械地刻蚀各种微尺度特征(例如，微通道、微孔、V型槽等)。刻蚀可以通过不同的工艺参数来控制，例如掩模和颗粒材料属性、喷射冲击角以及喷射中颗粒的速度和空间分布。AJM是一种相对较新的方法，用于制造用于微电子机械系统(MEMS)、光电子、微型燃料电池和微流体应用的硅、陶瓷和聚合物结构。与传统的微加工工艺相比，AJM的优势包括更高的材料去除效率、更低的设备成本、环境友好性(不含化学品)以及能够在单一衬底上将材料蚀刻到不同的深度。因此，可以安装简单、低成本和环境友好的系统，为新型微型元件的内部快速成型提供一种方法。研究人员之前已经建立了工艺模型，可以用来预测玻璃基板中常用的微尺度特征(通道、孔、平面区域)的蚀刻形状。拟议的研究建立在这项工作的基础上，建立并实验验证分析和数值过程模型，这些模型将把AJM的应用扩展到材料(聚合物/弹性体和层状材料)中新颖的3D和多层次特征的微加工，这些材料将形成我们的工业合作伙伴感兴趣的下一代微型组件。这些工艺模型将纳入各种工艺参数(颗粒大小、形状、速度、掩膜材料、几何形状、目标材料等)变化的影响。在预测的蚀刻形状上。这项基础研究将为提高AJM作为低成本和快速周转技术平台的潜力奠定基础，该平台用于微制造用于加拿大微型燃料电池、微流控芯片实验室、光电子和MEMS行业的新型多能级和3D组件。

Abrasive jet micromachining (AJM) uses a small high-speed air jet to accelerate microscopic abrasive particles toward a target material. By patterning the target surface with erosion resistant masks, various microscale features (e.g. microchannels, microholes, v grooves, etc) can be mechanically etched into it. The etching can be controlled by varying process parameters such as the mask and particle material properties, the jet impact angle, and the velocity and spatial distribution of particles within the jet. AJM is a relatively new approach to the fabrication of silicon, ceramic and polymeric structures for micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), optoelectronic, micro-fuel cell and microfluidic applications. Advantages of AJM over traditional microfabrication processes include a much higher material removal rate, a much lower equipment cost, environmental friendliness (no chemicals) and the ability to etch materials to different depths on a single substrate. As a result, simple low cost and environmentally friendly systems can be installed to provide a method for in house rapid prototyping of novel micro scale components. The investigators have previously established process models that can be used to predict the etched shape of commonly used microscale features (channels, holes, planar areas) in glass substrates. The proposed research builds on this work, to establish and experimentally verify analytical and numerical process models that will extend the application of AJM to the micromachining of novel 3D and multilevel features in the materials (polymers/elastomers and layered materials) that will form the next generation of micro components of interest to our industrial partners. These process models will incorporate the effect of changes in a wide variety of process parameters (particle size, shape, velocity, mask material, geometry, target material, etc.) on the predicted etched shape. This fundamental research will form the basis for improving AJM's potential as a low cost and rapid-turnaround technology platform for the microfabrication of novel multilevel and 3D components for the micro fuel cell, microfluidic lab-on-chip, opto-electronics, and MEMS industries in Canada.