ABSTRACT
Micromanufacturing is the bridge between nano-and macromanufacturing. There is an increasing demand for miniaturized products such as microsystems, microreactors, fuel cells, and micromedical devices. Micromanufacturing involves techniques such as photolithography, chemical etching, plating, LIGA, and laser ablation. It also involves nonsilicon applications through mechanical fabrication methods such as micromechanical cutting, microembossing, injection molding, and microextrusion. It has been realized that no single process can satisfy the increasing demand for miniaturized components and devices. A single process such as micromachining is suitable for materials fabrication in
the wider sense; however, it is not suitable when the number of components is large. Since a combination of processes increases the output dramatically, the thrust is increasingly toward the development of hybrid processes or integration of processes. A conuence of processing technologies is needed to address demands such as surfaces having high aspect ratio structures, three-dimensional complex/intricate structures, the method not being restricted to silicon, the process not being limited to clean room environment, rapid production at low cost, and environment friendliness.
