ABSTRACT
The bandwidth of possible sizes in all three dimensions renders LIGA useful for manufacture of microstructures (micrometer and submicrometer dimensions) and packages for these microstructures (millimeter and centimeter dimensions), and even for the connectors from those packages to the “macro world” (e.g., electrical, through-vias or physical and gas, in-and outlets). Once LIGA was established in the research community, interest in other micro-and nanomolding/replication methods became more pronounced. Given the cost of the LIGA equipment, various LIGA-like (pseudo-LIGA) processes took center stage. These pseudo-LIGA methods involve
micromolding/replication of masters created by alternate means such as deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) and novel deep ultraviolet (UV) thick photoresists (e.g., SU-8). This more generalized lithography and replication procedure is illustrated in Figure 10.1.
