Microstructure Fabrication with Conductive Paste Dispensing

We report on a fabrication technique that realizes 3-dimensionaI microstructures made of conductive pastes and mechanical and electrical properties of the fabricated microstructures. In the technique, ultra precise dispensing of low-temperature silver pastes on a heated substrate is continuously repeated and variable microstructures with a diameter of as small as 20 micrometers such as high posts, cantilevers and zigzag shapes can be successfully fabricated. The mechanical and electrical properties of the fabricated microcantilevers have been investigated and it has been found that their probing resistance with a low contact force of 1 mN can be lower than 1 Omega by utilizing appropriate heat curing and fritting processes.