SU-8-based deep x-ray lithography/LIGA

Poly-methylmethacrylate (PMMA), a positive resist, is the most commonly used resist for deep X-ray lithography (DXRL)/LIGA technology. Although PMMA offers superior quality with respect to accuracy and sidewall roughness but it is also extremely insensitive. In this paper, we present our research results on SU-8 as negative resist for deep X-ray lithography. The results show that SU-8 is over two order of magnitude more sensitive to X-ray radiation than PMMA and the accuracy of the SU-8 microstructures fabricated by deep X-ray lithography is superior to UV-lithography and comparable to PMMA structures. The good pattern quality together with the high sensitivity offers rapid prototyping and direct LIGA capability. Moreover, the combinational use of UV and X-ray lithography as well as the use of positive and negative resists made it possible to fabricate complex multi-level 3D microstructures. The new process can be used to fabricate complex multi-level 3D structures for MEMS, MOEMS, Bio-MEMS or other micro-devices.