Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7531077?dq=7,194,691
Timestamp: 2014-10-30 23:23:46
Document Index: 641261856

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60']

Patent US7531077 - Forming and adhering a multi-material layer to a previously formed layer to ... - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsSome embodiments of the invention are directed to the electrochemical fabrication of microprobes which are formed from a core material and a material that partially coats the surface of the probe. Other embodiments are directed to the electrochemical fabrication of microprobes which are formed from a...http://www.google.com/patents/US7531077?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7531077 - Forming and adhering a multi-material layer to a previously formed layer to a substrate to build up a three-dimensional structure from a plurality of adhered multi-material layers each having a thickness, separating at least a portion of sacrificial material layers from the structureAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7531077 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/029,221Publication dateMay 12, 2009Filing dateJan 3, 2005Priority dateFeb 4, 2003Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS20050215023Publication number029221, 11029221, US 7531077 B2, US 7531077B2, US-B2-7531077, US7531077 B2, US7531077B2InventorsAdam L. Cohen, Ananda H. Kumar, Michael S. Lockard, Dennis R. SmalleyOriginal AssigneeMicrofabrica Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (49), Non-Patent Citations (9), Referenced by (5), Classifications (17), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetForming and adhering a multi-material layer to a previously formed layer to a substrate to build up a three-dimensional structure from a plurality of adhered multi-material layers each having a thickness, separating at least a portion of sacrificial material layers from the structureUS 7531077 B2Abstract Some embodiments of the invention are directed to the electrochemical fabrication of microprobes which are formed from a core material and a material that partially coats the surface of the probe. Other embodiments are directed to the electrochemical fabrication of microprobes which are formed from a core material and a material that completely coats the surface of each layer from which the probe is formed including interlayer regions. These first two groups of embodiments incorporate both the core material and the coating material during the formation of each layer. Still other embodiments are directed to the electrochemical fabrication of microprobe arrays that are partially encapsulated by a dielectric material during a post layer formation coating process. In even further embodiments, the electrochemical fabrication of microprobes from two or more materials may occur by incorporating a coating material around each layer of the structure without locating the coating material in inter-layer regions.
RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60/533,897, 60/533,975, 60/533,947, 60/533,948, each filed on Dec. 31, 2003; and to 60/540,510, filed Jan. 29, 2004; this application is also a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/949,738, filed Sep. 24, 2004 which in turn is a CIP of 10/772,943 filed Feb. 4, 2004, which in turn claims benefit of U.S. App. Nos. 60/445,186 filed Feb. 4, 2003; 60/506,015 filed Sep. 24, 2003; 60/533,933 filed Dec. 31, 2003, and U.S. App. No. 60/536,865 filed Jan. 15, 2004; furthermore the '738 application claims benefit of U.S. App. Nos.: 60/506,015 filed Sep. 24, 2003; 60/533,933 filed Dec. 31, 2003; and 60/536,865 filed Jan. 15, 2004. Each of these applications, including any appendices attached thereto, is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to the field of Electrochemical Fabrication and the associated formation of three-dimensional structures (e.g. microscale or mesoscale structures). In particular, some embodiments are focused on the electrochemical fabrication of multilayer multimaterial probe elements (i.e. compliant electronic contact elements).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A technique for forming three-dimensional structures (e.g. parts, components, devices, and the like) from a plurality of adhered layers was invented by Adam L. Cohen and is known as Electrochemical Fabrication. It is being commercially pursued by Microfabrica Inc. (formerly MEMGen� Corporation) of Burbank, Calif. under the name EFAB�. This technique was described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,630, issued on Feb. 22, 2000. This electrochemical deposition technique allows the selective deposition of a material using a unique masking technique that involves the use of a mask that includes patterned conformable material on a support structure that is independent of the substrate onto which plating will occur. When desiring to perform an electrodeposition using the mask, the conformable portion of the mask is brought into contact with a substrate while in the presence of a plating solution such that the contact of the conformable portion of the mask to the substrate inhibits deposition at selected locations. For convenience, these masks might be generically called conformable contact masks; the masking technique may be generically called a conformable contact mask plating process. More specifically, in the terminology of Microfabrica Inc. (formerly MEMGen� Corporation) of Burbank, Calif. such masks have come to be known as INSTANT MASKS� and the process known as INSTANT MASKING� or INSTANT MASK� plating. Selective depositions using conformable contact mask plating may be used to form single layers of material or may be used to form multi-layer structures. The teachings of the '630 patent are hereby incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full herein. Since the filing of the patent application that led to the above noted patent, various papers about conformable contact mask plating (i.e. INSTANT MASKING) and electrochemical fabrication have been published:
(1) A. Cohen, G. Zhang, F. Tseng, F. Mansfeld, U. Frodis and P. Will, �EFAB: Batch production of functional, fully-dense metal parts with micro-scale features�, Proc. 9th Solid Freeform Fabrication, The University of Texas at Austin, p161, August 1998. (2) A. Cohen, G. Zhang, F. Tseng, F. Mansfeld, U. Frodis and P. Will, �EFAB: Rapid, Low-Cost Desktop Micromachining of High Aspect Ratio True 3-D MEMS�, Proc. 12th IEEE Micro Electro Mechanical Systems Workshop, IEEE, p244, January 1999. (3) A. Cohen, �3-D Micromachining by Electrochemical Fabrication�, Micromachine Devices, March 1999. (4) G. Zhang, A. Cohen, U. Frodis, F. Tseng, F. Mansfeld, and P. Will, �EFAB: Rapid Desktop Manufacturing of True 3-D Microstructures�, Proc. 2nd International Conference on Integrated MicroNanotechnology for Space Applications, The Aerospace Co., April 1999. (5) F. Tseng, U. Frodis, G. Zhang, A. Cohen, F. Mansfeld, and P. Will, �EFAB: High Aspect Ratio, Arbitrary 3-D Metal Microstructures using a Low-Cost Automated Batch Process�, 3rd International Workshop on High Aspect Ratio MicroStructure Technology (HARMST'99), June 1999. (6) A. Cohen, U. Frodis, F. Tseng, G. Zhang, F. Mansfeld, and P. Will, �EFAB: Low-Cost, Automated Electrochemical Batch Fabrication of Arbitrary 3-D Microstructures�, Micromachining and Microfabrication Process Technology, SPIE 1999 Symposium on Micromachining and Microfabrication, September 1999. (7) F. Tseng, G. Zhang, U. Frodis, A. Cohen, F. Mansfeld, and P. Will, �EFAB: High Aspect Ratio, Arbitrary 3-D Metal Microstructures using a Low-Cost Automated Batch Process�, MEMS Symposium, ASME 1999 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, November, 1999. (8) A. Cohen, �Electrochemical Fabrication (EFABTM)�, Chapter 19 of The MEMS Handbook, edited by Mohamed Gad-EI-Hak, CRC Press, 2002. (9) Microfabrication�Rapid Prototyping's Killer Application�, pages 1-5 of the Rapid Prototyping Report, CAD/CAM Publishing, Inc., June 1999. The disclosures of these nine publications are hereby incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of some embodiments of the invention to provide an enhanced electrochemical process for working with multiple structural materials.
In FIG. 5A, a temporary substrate 102 is provided, and in FIG. 5B a layer of sacrificial material 104, e.g. Cu, is deposited and planarized. In FIG. 5C, a second level of the sacrificial material 104 has been plated selectively and in FIG. 5D, a coating material 106 (e.g., Au) is blanket deposited thinly (e.g., 1-3 μm) of the entire surface of the deposited materials. In some variations of the present embodiment the plating of the coating material 106 may occur in a selective manner by use of a mask that leaving openings over the void regions 108 in the sacrificial material. The thickness of the deposited coating material 106 is made significantly less than the height of the pattern-plated sacrificial material 104 so as to provide sufficient sacrificial material height to allow deposition of the probe structural material 112 (e.g., Ni�P) to occur in selected locations below a planarization level to which the deposits will be trimmed. The deposition of the structural material 112 is shown in FIG. 5E. In some variations of the present embodiment, the deposition of structural material 112 may occur in a selective manner. FIG. 5F shows the state of the process after the deposited materials have been planarized to define a layer 114-1 which include regions of structural material 112 and regions of sacrificial material 104 which are separated by thin deposit of coating material 106. FIG. 5G shows the state of the process after multiple layers have been formed using operations similar to those used in forming the first layer.
In FIG. 5H, the build has been transferred to and bonded (using solder or other bonding means not shown) to a space transformer or other substrate 116. In FIG. 51, the formed structure comprised of structural material 112 and coatings of material 106 has been released from the sacrificial material 104 and from substrate 102. Since the coating material envelops the structural material on only three sides (as shown) out of four, the etchant used to attack the sacrificial material must not more than minimally attack both the coating material 106 and the structural material 112 which forms the core of the structure formed (e.g. of a probe structure). Examples of materials compatible with Cu etchants are Au, Ni, Ni�P, Ni�Co, and Sn. Probes made with a Ni or Ni alloy core and a Au coating will have mechanical properties similar to those made purely from Ni/Ni alloy (i.e., without a coating), but with lower overall resistance due to the Au coating. Probes made with an Au core and a Ni/Ni alloy coating, on the other hand, will likely have a lower spring constant than those made with Ni/Ni alloy cores, but may have a particularly low resistivity. The thickness of the coating relative to the thickness of the core material may be adjusted to tailor the mechanical and electrical properties of the probe. In applications where high frequency signals will be carried, it may be desirable to use a low resistance material (e.g., Au) as the coating material and a different material as the core material. It should also be noted that use of a high modulus material (e.g., Ni) as a coating material may bring enhanced modulus the structure as a whole due to the larger distance of the high modulus material from the neutral axis of each layer.
In FIGS. 6A-6K, a second embodiment of process for forming a two material probe is illustrated. In this second embodiment a two-material probe is produced while using only two materials in the build process. This is accomplished by fully encapsulating the material that will form the bulk of the structure within a coating material. In FIG. 6A, a temporary substrate 202 is provided. In FIG. 6B a layer of a sacrificial material 204 (e.g. Cu) has been deposited and planarized. In FIG. 6C, a second level of sacrificial material (e.g. Cu) has been selectively plated and then any patterning mask that used in selectively depositing the sacrificial material has been removed. In FIG. 6D, a coating material or structural material 206 is deposited as a thin coating. In some implementations of the present embodiment, the structural material may include, e.g., Ni, Ni�P, Ni�Co, and the like) which is blanket deposited to form a thin coating (e.g., 1-5 μm). As with variations of the first embodiment, in variations of this embodiment, the coating material may be deposited in a selective manner. The thickness of the deposited structural material 206 is made significantly less than the height of the pattern-plated sacrificial material so that another quantity of sacrificial material may be deposited into the void 208 in the pocket of structural material located within void 208 in the selectively deposited sacrificial such that the bulk of the material within the void 208 is sacrificial material which is surrounded by a coating of structural material as shown in FIG. 5E. In a variation of the present embodiment, rather than thinly blanket plating the structural material (i.e. thinner than the layer thickness) to form the bottom and sides of the layer, one could form the bottom as a thin layer of its own and the sides as narrow but layer thickness deep selective deposits of material (e.g. lithographically-defined) on a successive layer.
In FIG. 6F, the sacrificial material has been plated selectively as part of a process of forming a structural �cap� for the structural region of the previously formed layer wherein the patterning of the deposition of the sacrificial material is selected to match or is at least based on the region of initial deposition of the sacrificial material associated with the previous layer. In variations of this embodiment, the cap may be made to be identical to the structural material region of the previous layer it may be made to extend beyond the region of the structural material if such an extension exists in the current layer. It is important to ensure that no gap exists in the structural material that surrounds the sacrificial material 212 (i.e. the �core� sacrificial material as distinguished from the sacrificial material 204 that will eventually be removed) that is intending to be encapsulated as such a gap could allow etching of the core sacrificial material 212. Since the only function of this layer is as a cap, it may be made as part of a layer that is thinner than the previous layer. FIG. 6G depicts the state of the process after deposition of the cap material on the cap layer occurs while FIG. 6H depicts the state of the process after a planarization process trims the cap material 206 and the deposited sacrificial material to complete formation of the thin cap layer.
(4) deposit a thin layer of the coating material; (5) remove the mask; (6) deposit a thick coating of structural material to be encapsulated; (7) planarize the deposits to the desired layer level; and (8) repeat operations (1)-(7) to form remaining layers of the structure. In a variation of this process, the regions defined for not receiving the encapsulating material may be somewhat smaller than the intersection (e.g. an eroded intersection region) of the structural material regions for the previous layer and the present layer (e.g. to ensure that no breaks in encapsulating material inadvertently occur in the layer-to-layer intersection regions. In an alternative approach to the previous embodiment, the following operations may be used to ensure encapsulation while not inadvertently locating encapsulation material between layers of structural material: (1) locate a masking material over those portions of a surface where sacrificial material is not to be located; (2) deposit the sacrificial material; (3) deposit a thin layer of the coating material; (4) locate a patterned mask over at least the encapsulation material in those regions where it is to remain; (5) selectively etch away the thin layer of encapsulation material exposed via the openings in the mask (i.e. remove encapsulation material from regions where structural material will overlay structural material or at least on some reduced portion of that area); (6) remove the mask; (7) deposit a thick coating of structural material to be encapsulated; (8) planarize the deposits to the desired layer level; and (9) repeat operations (1)-(8) to form remaining layers of the structure.
FIG. 8H depicts the state of the process after inter-diffusion of structural material and encapsulating material result in a modified coating 408. In some embodiments, it may be desirable to produce this inter-diffusion result while in other embodiments it may be something to be avoided (e.g. by using barrier layers and/or selection of substantially non-inter-diffusing material pairs, e.g. such as nickel and copper, or the like. If inter-diffusion is desired, those of skill in the art can empirically determine most appropriate treatment conditions and time depending on their objectives, the materials involved, and the like, e.g. desirable material properties may be obtained by heating to 600� C. for fifteen minutes in a reducing atmosphere.
Various other embodiments of the present invention exist. Some of these embodiments may be based on a combination of the teachings herein with various teachings incorporated herein by reference. Some embodiments may not use any blanket deposition process and/or they may not use a planarization process. Some embodiments may involve the selective deposition of a plurality of different materials on a single layer or on different layers. Some embodiments may use selective deposition processes or blanket deposition processes on some layers that are not electrodeposition processes. Some embodiments may use nickel as a structural material while other embodiments may use different materials. For example, preferred spring materials include nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), beryllium copper (BeCu), nickel phosphorous (Ni�P), tungsten (W), aluminum copper (Al�Cu), steel, P7 alloy, palladium, molybdenum, manganese, brass, chrome, chromium copper (Cr�Cu), and combinations of these. Some embodiments may use copper as the structural material with or without a sacrificial material. Some embodiments may remove all of a sacrificial material while other embodiments may not.
Some embodiments may employ diffusion bonding or the like to enhance adhesion between successive layers of material. Various teachings concerning the use of diffusion bonding in electrochemical fabrication processes are set forth in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/841,384 which was filed May 7, 2004 by Cohen et al. which is entitled �Method of Electrochemically Fabricating Multilayer Structures Having Improved Interlayer Adhesion� and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full. This applications hereby incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full.
Further teaching about microprobes and electrochemical fabrication techniques are set forth in a number of US patent applications which were filed on Dec. 31, 2003. These Filings include: (1) U.S. Patent Application No. 60/533,933, by Arat et al. and which is entitled �Electrochemically Fabricated Microprobes�; (2) U.S. Patent Application No. 60/533,975, by Kim et al. and which is entitled �Microprobe Tips and Methods for Making�; (3) U.S. Patent Application No. 60/533,947, by Kumar et al. and which is entitled �Probe Arrays and Method for Making�; and (4) U.S. Patent Application No. 60/533,948, by Cohen et al. and which is entitled �Electrochemical Fabrication Method for Co-Fabricating Probes and Space Transformers�. These patent filings are each hereby incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full herein.
The techniques disclosed explicitly herein may benefit by combining them with the techniques disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/026180 filed concurrently herewith by Chen et al. and entitled �Pin-Type Probes for Contacting Electronic Circuits and Methods for Making Such Probes� (Corresponding to Microfabrica Docket No. P-US139-A-MF); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/641341 filed concurrently herewith by Chen et al. and entitled �Vertical Microprobes for Contacting Electronic Components and Method for Making Such Probes� (corresponding to Microfabrica Docket No. P-US129-A-MF); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/029217 filed concurrently herewith by Kim et al. and entitled �Microprobe Tips and Methods For Making� (corresponding to Microfabrica Docket No. P-US122-A-MF); and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/028958 filed concurrently herewith by Kumar et al. and entitled �Probe Arrays and Methods for Making� (corresponding to Microfabrica Docket No. P-US123-A-MF). and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/029221 filed concurrently herewith by Cohen et al. and entitled �Electrochemical Fabrication Process for Forming Multilayer Multimaterial Microprobe Structures� (corresponding to Microfabrica Docket No. P-US138-A-MF).
Further teachings about planarizing layers and setting layers thicknesses and the like are set forth in the following US Patent Applications which were filed Dec. 31, 2003: (1) U.S. Patent Application No. 60/534,159 by Cohen et al. and which is entitled �Electrochemical Fabrication Methods for Producing Multilayer Structures Including the use of Diamond Machining in the Planarization of Deposits of Material� and (2) U.S. Patent Application No. 60/534,183 by Cohen et al. and which is entitled �Method and Apparatus for Maintaining Parallelism of Layers and/or Achieving Desired Thicknesses of Layers During the Electrochemical Fabrication of Structures�. These patent filings are each hereby incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full herein.
The techniques disclosed explicitly herein may benefit by combining them with the techniques disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/029220 filed concurrently herewith by Frodis et al. and entitled �Method and Apparatus for Maintaining Parallelism of Layers and/or Achieving Desired Thicknesses of Layers During the Electrochemical Fabrication of Structures� (corresponding to Microfabrica Docket No. P-US132-A-MF).
The techniques disclosed explicitly herein may benefit by combining them with the techniques disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/029216 filed concurrently herewith by Cohen et al. and entitled �Electrochemical Fabrication Methods Incorporating Dielectric Materials and/or Using Dielectric Substrates� (corresponding to Microfabrica Docket No. P-US128-A-MF) and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/641292 filed concurrently herewith by Dennis R. Smalley and entitled �Method of Forming Electrically Isolated Structures Using Thin Dielectric Coatings� (corresponding to Microfabrica Docket No. P-US121-A-MF).
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Tseng, et al., "EFAB: High Aspect Ratio, Arbitrary 3-D Metal Microstructures Using a Low-Cost Automated Batch Process", MEMS Symposium, ASME 1999 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Nov. 1999.9Gang Zhang, et al., "EFAB: Rapid Desktop Manufacturing of True 3-D Microstructures", Proc. 2nd International Conference on Integrated MicroNanotechnology for Space Applications, The Aerospace Co., Apr. 1999.Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS7946050 *May 29, 2008May 24, 2011National Chiao Tung UniversityThree-dimensional microprobe arrayUS7998331 *Feb 1, 2010Aug 16, 2011University Of Southern CaliforniaMethod for electrochemical fabricationUS8551315Apr 6, 2012Oct 8, 2013University Of Southern CaliforniaMethod for electromechanical fabricationUS8603316Jun 23, 2011Dec 10, 2013University Of Southern CaliforniaMethod for electrochemical fabricationUS20090320990 *Apr 28, 2009Dec 31, 2009Microfabrica Inc.Electrochemical Fabrication Process for Forming Multilayer Multimaterial Microprobe Structures* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification205/118, 205/122, 205/170International ClassificationH01L21/20, C25D5/02, G01R31/02Cooperative ClassificationC23C18/1605, C25D1/003, C23C18/1651, G01R1/0483, G01R1/06716, G01R31/2886, G01R1/07357European ClassificationG01R1/067C2, G01R1/073B8, G01R1/04S3U, G01R31/28G5Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionNov 5, 2012FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4May 27, 2011ASAssignmentEffective date: 20110527Owner name: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, CALIFORNIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:MICROFABRICA INC.;REEL/FRAME:026355/0185Jun 10, 2005ASAssignmentOwner name: MICROFABRICA INC., CALIFORNIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:COHEN, ADAM L.;KUMAR, ANANDA H.;LOCKARD, MICHAEL S.;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:016691/0279;SIGNING DATES FROM 20050404 TO 20050423RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google