Patent ID: 8151600

Claim:
A method for fabricating self-inflated micro-objects on a microscopic level comprising: defining a plurality of blind microholes into a wafer; disposing a sheet of thermally formable glass onto the wafer covering the microholes to trap a gas in the microholes; heating the sheet of thermally formable glass until a predetermined degree of plasticity is achieved; applying thermally generated pressure due to expansion of the trapped gas in the microholes to the sheet of thermally formable glass, while the sheet is plastic; and simultaneously forming a plurality of blown micro-objects in the sheet on the wafer by means of continued application of thermally generated pressure for a predetermined time, wherein each microhole has an opening adjacent to the sheet communicating with an interior of the micro-object when the micro-object is formed, the opening having a cross-sectional area that is smaller than the remaining portions of the microhole at the time the micro-object is formed such that the height and volume of the micro-object can be precisely controlled.