Microelectromechanical systems fabricated with roll to roll processing
AssigneeEncite LLC
InventorStephen Alan Marsh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Roll to roll processing techniques are described to produce microelectromechanical systems having releasable and movable mechanical structures. A micro-pump that includes a pump body having compartmentalized pump chambers, with plural inlet and outlet ports and valves and plural membranes enclosing the pump chambers is described as a representative example.
Claims15
A method of manufacturing a microelectromechanical system, the microelectromechanical system comprising a fixed body element and an element that is releasable from the fixed body element and moveable relative to the fixed body element, the method comprising:
- patterning a first sheet of a flexible plastic material having a metal coating on one surface of the sheet to produce a first metallic region on the one surface;
- patterning the first sheet to produce the fixed body element from the first sheet of flexible plastic material and the releasable and moveable feature aligned with the first metallic region, with the patterning of the releasable and moveable feature leaving the releasable and moveable feature tethered to a portion of the fixed body element;
- and
- laminating a second sheet of a flexible plastic material to the first sheet to provide a composite laminated structure.
The method of claim of 2 wherein the moveable, releasable elements are a T-shaped member of a T valve that is an outlet valve and an Omega-shaped member of an Omega valve that is an inlet valve.
The method of claim of 1 further comprising:
- depositing a conductive layer on a first surface of the second sheet.
The method of claim of 5 wherein depositing of the conductive layer occurs prior to lamination of the second sheet.
The method of claim of 1 wherein the microelectromechanical system is fabricated on a roll to roll processing line, and the method further comprises:
- removing the first sheet of the flexible plastic material having the metal coating from a first roll;
- and
- removing the second sheet of the flexible plastic material having a metal coating on one surface from a second roll;
- and wherein ablating occurs at a first station, patterning occurs at a second station, and lamination occurs at a third station.
A method of manufacturing a moveable element in a microelectromechanical system, the method comprising:
- unrolling from a first roll a first sheet of a flexible material having a metal coating on one surface of the sheet;
- patterning the metal coating leaving at least an isolated region of the metal coating;
- unrolling from a second roll a second sheet of a flexible material;
- producing at a first patterning station from the first sheet and the second sheet a body element and a moveable element, with the moveable element aligned with the region in the first sheet of material as the first and second sheets traverse through the first patterning station;
- unrolling from a third roll a third sheet of a flexible material having a metallic layer on the third sheet;
- laminating at a laminating station the third sheet to the second sheet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.