SBIR Phase I: An Agile Microfabrication Platform for High-Mix, Low-Volume Microchip Production

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to create a rapid manufacturing and on-demand microchip microfabrication capability. This is enabled by a rapid-manufacturing platform that is targeted at serving the needs of micro-electromechanical system (MEMS), Internet of Things (IoT), and MEMS in biological applications (bioMEMS) developers. The innovation will enable IoT developers to create new MEMS-based products at a fraction of the cost and time typical today. This will enable development of high-value, mass-customized IoT devices that will further stimulate growth in manufacturing, security, and a multitude of other areas. This project will enable for the first time, a true low-cost rapid manufacturing capability for the MEMS community, thus addressing a long standing challenge in the industry. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address key technical questions related to the feasibility and scalability of microelectronics manufacturing to tabletop form factors. A capability required for the manufacturing platform is a wafer bonding system. Development of this key capability on a tabletop scale requires precise engineering of a complex system including precision motion controllers, cameras, kinematic fixtures, actuators, and heaters into compact modules. Furthermore, these complex modules must support and maintain sensitive environments with requirements like vacuum pressures and vibration isolation. Key questions remain such as how to maintain wafer alignment while moving between system modules, how to preserve precise registration of wafer positions through multi-axis movements, and how to attain micron-level optical resolution of alignment marks with edge-mounted optics rather than bottom-up or top-down optics. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.