Self-Aligned Stylus with High Sphericity for Micro Coordinate Measurement

This paper presents a mask-free fabrication of styluses with high sphericity for micro coordinate measurement machine (μCMM), a mechanical system using micro-scale contact probes to measure the profile of high-aspect-ratio micro-structures. This new process combines micro-pellet and stylus into one mechanical device. The micro-pellets are self-configured inside aqueous environment in which the surface tension deforms the pellets into prefect spheres. Stylus arrays were patterned by self-aligned waveguides. This process enables the center of the micro-sphere to accurately coincide with the longitudinal axis of stylus and hence the Abbe error for the μCMM can be significantly reduced.