Title :
In-Plane, Hollow Microneedles Via Polymer Investment Molding
Author :
Lippmann, J.M. ; Pisano, A.P.
Author_Institution :
Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Abstract :
Investment molding is used to create hollow, in-plane, polymer microneedles. Sacrificial investment pieces (. 32 µ m-diameter aluminum bond wires) are bonded into silicon micromachined molds. Needles are formed by filling these molds with Cyclic Olefin Copolymer (Ticona Topas ®) using an injection molding machine. These needles are immersed in etchant, dissolving the investment and leaving a hollow part. Two micromachining techniques are used to make molds, RIE and KOH. The RIE molds deliver microneedles 280 µ m in length with rectangular (130 µ m x 100 µ m) cross-sections and inner diameter of ~ 35 µ m. The KOH molds are used to create 300 µ m long microneedles with 150 µ m wide triangular shafts with tapered tips.
Keywords :
Aluminum; Bonding; Etching; Filling; Injection molding; Investments; Needles; Polymers; Silicon; Wires;
Conference_Titel :
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, 2006. MEMS 2006 Istanbul. 19th IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Istanbul, Turkey
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-9475-5
DOI :
10.1109/MEMSYS.2006.1627786
