A novel fabrication method for 3-D microstructures using surface-activated bonding of thin films

We propose a novel fabrication method for 3-D microstructures using surface-activated bonding (SAB) of thin films. This method is a kind of layer manufacturing technique for metallic or dielectric microstructures with an accuracy of sub-micrometers. In our method called FORMULA (Formation of /spl mu/-structures by lamination), all sliced patterns for microstructures are first formed on a donor substrate by photolithography, then they are transferred and laminated onto a target substrate using SAB. Because one transfer process requires only several minutes, the throughput of ten layers per hour is possible. Aluminum patterns were successfully transferred and laminated on the target substrate to construct various microstructures.