NSF Award
0539731
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I research project will combine advanced two-chemistry photopolymer science and 3D maskless lithography to demonstrate a solution to an ubiquitous barrier to the broader impacts of optoelectronic and MEMs technologies. The objective of this research is a universal integration platform capable of seamlessly hybridizing electronic, micro-mechanical, opto-electronic and optic devices on a single chip to implement complex 3D systems in an environmentally robust package. The need for such a platform is enormous: over 90% of the development cost of optoelectronic components for telecom is estimated to be packaging and the limited market penetration of MEMs products is universally blamed on packaging difficulties. In this program, we will optimize the photo polymerizable monomer system and adapt a multi-beam direct-write lithography platform in order to demonstrate and optimize a new class of 3D routed waveguides. The anticipated results are a new class of polymer material and an associated maskless lithography technique to support research, education and commercial production of a wide range of miniature mobile devices that are currently confined to laboratory benches.<br/><br/>If successful the proposed multi-disciplinary materials and lithography research program has the potential to revolutionize public access to complex microdevices that are currently restricted to laboratories or expensive military systems. By providing a platform for inexpensive, robust miniaturization of systems that seamlessly incorporate optics, MEMs and electronics, a wide range of communication, medical and sensing systems become technically and economically feasible.
