SBIR Phase I: Silicon Insert Molded Plastics: Mold & Process Development

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a process for injection molding polymer parts with tolerances, smoothness, and dimensions at a nanoscale level. This process, called Silicon Insert Molded Plastics (SIMP) (funded by a NSF grant), employs silicon inserts manufactured using microfabrication techniques as the feature generating surfaces of a mold tool. Current mold manufacturing techniques such as micro-EDM or polymer embossing are either unable to generate sub-micron features or are unable to do so at a reasonable cost. By using microfabricated silicon features like KOH etched, nanometer smooth planes, sub-micron mold tools can be created in large quantities and at a low cost. As a test bed for this process, a new fiber optic connector has been developed, including tolerance based modeling and generation of the silicon mold inserts. In this project, mold inserts will be created using current manufacturing technology and the SIMP process, as well as a mold base, capable of molding parts with either the metal or silicon inserts. The objective of this project is to compare the mold trials in terms of engineering results (e.g. precision, quality of molded parts), manufacturing techniques (e.g. integration of Si molds, processing variations, materials) and economics. Using this data, metrics will be developed for selecting and using SIMP as a manufacturing process. Furthermore, this information can be used to refine the connector model and to specify manufacturing parameters for a final part. The broader impacts of this technology would be a reduction in the cost of fiber optic communications and by introducing a new manufacturing technique that would allow for the creation of parts with sub-micron features at a currently unattainable low cost.