Development and characterization of self-assembly using residual stress in a multi-user polymer MEMS process

A novel self-assembly method is presented for creating self-assembled three-dimensional micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) structures. The residual stress between structural polymer layers caused by separate curing processes has been used as the self-assembly mechanism. Various radii of curvature are presented using this self-assembly method in order to show the capability of fabricating three-dimensional microstructures. SU-8 negative photoresist is used as a structural material, and induced stresses are lithographically defined for self-assembly. The self-assembly mechanism is simulated using finite element analysis in ANSYS. Several types of self-assembled microstructures are presented. The fabrication is performed at low temperatures and is compatible with commercial integrated-circuit processes.